The effects of community quarantine to study habits among University of Santo Tomas Medical Technology interns of A.Y. 2020-2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 and quarantine due to it has affected people globally. The study aimed to determine the effects of community quarantine and study habits among medical technology interns from University of Santo Tomas. Variables such as time management, concentration, note-taking, reading comprehension, test preparation and test-taking, reading speed, and writing skills served as determinants on 220 medical technology interns during the academic year 2020-2021. The sampling size was divided to the total population of the Medical technology interns and multiplied to the total number of students per block section. Total 30 participants were chosen from section A, 28 participants each from sections B, C, D and 27 participants from section E. Survey questionnaire was utilized to evaluate a medical technology intern’s study habit prior and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show that the shift of educational modality from face-to-face to the online setting due to the implementation of community quarantine has caused a significant change in four out of eight study habits. Specifically, time management, concentration, reading comprehension and reading speed. These changes were affected by factors such as time management, limited study environment, social media usage, and poor peer-interaction during community quarantine.