فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

Background: Improving students’ health has always been a primary mission for schools. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a shift to virtual education in schools. The present study aimed to analyze the lived experiences of elementary school teachers to explore the effect of virtual education on students’ health during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: This study utilized a qualitative approach and a descriptive phenomenological method to investigate the lived experiences of teachers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 elementary school teachers in West Azerbaijan province. To ensure the trustworthiness of the data, Lincoln and Guba’s reliability criteria were employed including credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability through participant validation as well as review by non-participating experts. Purposeful and snowball sampling methods were used to recruit participants. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step method.Results: Data analysis revealed 47 codes, three subthemes, and one main theme. The main theme showed that, based on teachers’ lived experiences, the health characteristics of students who experienced only virtual education in the first grade of elementary school in the academic years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, were significantly different from those of students before COVID-19. The subthemes identified included the consequences for physical health and well-being, mental health, and social health.Conclusion: Addressing the consequences of virtual education on the health of students necessitates strategic planning and careful attention.