Cognitive fatigue in older adult university educators during psychoadaptation to digital environments

Authors

  • Carlos Armando Huamán Carreón Universidad Andina “Néstor Cáceres Velázquez”, Facultad de Ingeniería, Escuela Profesional de Arquitectura y Urbanismo. Puno. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8992-8080
  • Ramiro Amílcar Bolaños Calderón Universidad Andina “Néstor Cáceres Velázquez”, Facultad de Ingeniería, Escuela Profesional de Arquitectura y Urbanismo. Puno. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4274-3040
  • George Argota Pérez 2Centro de Investigaciones Avanzadas y Formación Superior en Educación, Salud y Medio Ambiente “AMTAWI”. Ica. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2560-6749
  • Juan Benites Noriega Universidad Andina “Néstor Cáceres Velázquez”, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Puras, Escuela Profesional de Ingeniería de Sistemas. Puno. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8065-2409
  • Richard Condori Cruz Universidad Andina “Néstor Cáceres Velázquez”, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Puras, Escuela Profesional de Ingeniería de Sistemas. Puno. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2566-3735
  • Jesus Esteban Castillo Machaca Universidad Andina “Néstor Cáceres Velázquez”, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Puras, Escuela Profesional de Ingeniería Civil. Puno. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4595-7589
  • Milthon Quispe Huanca Universidad Andina “Néstor Cáceres Velázquez”, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Puras, Escuela Profesional de Ingeniería Ambiental y Sanitaria. Puno. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4219-1007
  • Ramiro Madonio Yallico Calmett Universidad Nacional “San Luis Gonzaga”, Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación y Humanidades. Ica. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3082-3310

Keywords:

Elderly, digital burnout, digital competence, teaching performance, technological skills, digital technology.

Abstract

Introduction: Mental fatigue leads to a decline in teaching performance in response to the demands of online education.

Objective: To assess cognitive fatigue in elderly university educators during psychoadaptation to digital environments.

Material and Methods: A total of 27 elderly university educators were surveyed online from January to June 2023. A Likert scale was utilized, and reliability was validated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The Spearman correlation between cognitive fatigue and psychoadaptation to digital environments was analyzed using SPSS v25. The results were considered significant when p≤0.05.

Results: Elderly university educators face difficulties with digital technology: concentration problems (88.9%), mental exhaustion (77.8 %), resistance to digitized tasks (70.4 %), lack of tool security (66.7 %), and work overload (81.5 %). Cognitive fatigue and deficient adaptation (score of 3.25) highlight the need for specific support. Data reliability (α = 0.73) supports cognitive fatigue measurement. The correlation between cognitive fatigue and digital adaptation is weak and nonsignificant (ρ = 0.2563, p = 0.2768), suggesting a complex relationship.

Conclusions: There are significant challenges to the adaptation of elderly university educators to digital technology, emphasizing the need for specific support and appropriate strategies.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

1. Reddy P, Sharma B, Chaudhary K. Digital literacy: a review of literature. International Journal of Technoethics [Internet]. 2020 [Citado 20/06/2023];11(2):65-94. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.4018/ijt.20200701.oa1

2. Sánchez CC, Santiago CR, Sánchez CMT. Teacher digital literacy: the indisputable challenge after Covid-19. Sustainability [Internet]. 2021 [Citado 22/09/2023];13(4):1858. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041858

3. Lilian A. Motivational beliefs, an important contrivance in elevating digital literacy among university students. Heliyon [Internet]. 2022 [Citado 12/11/2023];8(12):11913. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11913

4. Guerola NV, Stratu SD, Botella CD, Gil GH. Media or information literacy as variables for citizen participation in public decisionmaking? A bibliometric overview. Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship [Internet]. 2023 [Citado 8/12/2023];2(1):100030. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stae.2022.100030

5. Eshet AY. Digital literacy: a conceptual framework for survival skills in the digital era. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia [Internet]. 2004 [Citado 8/12/2023];13(1):93-106. Disponible en: https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/4793/

6. Oksanen A, Oksa R, Savela N, Mantere E, Savolainen I, Kaakinen M. Covid19 crisis and digital stressors at work: a longitudinal study on the Finnish working population. Computers in Human Behavior [Internet]. 2021 [Citado 8/12/2023];122:106853. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106853

7. Fernández CA. State-anxiety and academic burnout regarding university access selective examinations in Spain during and after the Covid-19 lockdown. Frontiers Psychology [Internet]. 2021 [Citado 18/02/2024];12:621863. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.621863

8. Zis P, Artemiadis A, Bargiotas P, Nteveros A, Hadjigeorgiou GM. Medical studies during the Covid-19 pandemic: the impact of digital learning on medical students’ burnout and mental health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health [Internet]. 2021 [Citado 18/02/2024];18:349. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18010349

9. Bosanac D, Luic L. Importance of digital literacy in the process of confronting the stress during Covid-19 pandemic. Public Health Informatics [Internet]. 2021 [Citado 14/01/2024];27(281):1041-5. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.3233/shti210343

10. Wang X, Zhang R, Wang Z, Li T. How does digital competence preserve university students’ psychological well-being during the pandemic? An investigation from self-determined theory. Frontiers in Psychology [Internet]. 2021 [Citado 19/01/2024];12:652594. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.652594

11. Lazarus RS, Opton EM, Averill J. Adaptación psicológica y emociones (parte A). Revista Latinoamericana de Psicología. 1969;1(2-3):105-32.

12. Bitakou E, Ntaliani M, Demestichas K, Costopoulou C. Assessing massive open online courses for developing digital competences among higher education teachers. Education Science [Internet]. 2023 [Citado 12/09/2023];13:900. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13090900

13. Cronbach LJ. Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika [Internet]. 1951 [Citado 22/02/2024];16:297-334. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02310555

14. Xie X, Zang Z, Ponzoa JM. The information impact of network media, the psychological reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, and online knowledge acquisition: evidence from Chinese college students. Journal Innovation Knowledge [Internet]. 2020 [Citado 23/02/2024];5(4):297-305. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2020.10.005

15. Al Lily AE, Ismail AF, Abunasser FM, Alhajhoj ARH. Distance education as a response to pandemics: coronavirus and Arab culture. Technology in Society [Internet]. 2020 [Citado 18/01/2024];63:101317. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101317

16. Fleming EC, Robert J, Sparrow J, Wee J, Dudas P, Slattery MJ. A digital fluency framework to support 21st-century skills. Change [Internet]. 2021 [Citado 23/01/2024];53(2):41-8. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2021.1883977

17. Zhu M. Enhancing MOOC learners’ skills for self-directed learning. Distance Education [Internet]. 2021 [Citado 11/01/2024];42(3):441-60. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2021.1956302

18. Kooij DTAM. The impact of the covid-19 pandemic on older workers: the role of self-regulation and organizations. Work Aging and Retirement [Internet]. 2020 [Citado 17/01/2024];6(4):233-7. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1093/workar/waaa018

19. Phillips RO. A review of definitions of fatigue – And a step towards a whole definition. Transportation Research Part F. Traffic Psychology and Behaviour [Internet]. 2015 [Citado 8/01/2024];29:48-56. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2015.01.003

20. Jain S, Nataraja NP. The effect of fatigue on working memory and auditory perceptual abilities in trained musicians. American Journal Audiology [Internet]. 2019 [Citado 13/01/2024];28(2):483-94. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_AJA-IND50-18-0102

21. Wiehler A, Branzoli F, Adanyeguh I, Mochel, F, Pessiglione M. A neuro-metabolic account of why daylong cognitive work alters the control of economic decisions. Current Biology [Internet]. 2022 [Citado 16/12/2023];32(16):3564-75. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.010

22. Ferreira JrA, Chierotti P, Gabardo JM, Giovanini B, Okano AH, Buzzachera CF, et al. Residual effects of mental fatigue on subjective fatigue, reaction time and cardiac responses. Revista Psicología Deporte [Internet]. 2020 [Citado 16/12/2023];29(2):27-34. Disponible en: https://rpd-online.com/index.php/rpd/article/view/26

23. Kowalski KL, Tierney BC, Christie AD. Mental fatigue does not substantially alter neuromuscular function in young, healthy males and females. Physiology Behavior [Internet]. 2022 [Citado 10/12/2023];253:113855. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113855

24. Quispe HM, Argota PG, Huamán CCA, Bolaños CRA, Benites NJ. Habilidades digitales y tecnoestrés en docentes universitarios mayores de 60 años. Medisan [Internet]. 2023 [Citado 15/01/2023];27(6):1-13. Disponible en: https://medisan.sld.cu/index.php/san/article/view/4698

25. Nazzal A, Thoyib A, Djumilah ZAIN, Hussein AS. The influence of digital literacy and demographic characteristics on online shopping intention: an empirical study in Palestine. Journal Asian Finance, Economics and Business [Internet]. 2021 [Citado 29/02/2024];8:205-15. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2021.vol8.no8.0205

26. Bosanac D, Luic L. Importance of digital literacy in the process of confronting the stress during Covid-19 pandemic. Public Health Informatics [Internet]. 2021 [Citado 13/01/2024];281:1041-5. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.3233/shti210343

27. Staten A. Combatting Burnout: A guide for medical students and junior doctors. CRC Press. EE UU: CRC Press; 2019.

28. Marzilli E, Cerniglia L, Cimino S, Tambelli R. Internet addiction among young adult university students during the Covid-19 pandemic: the role of peritraumatic distress, attachment, and alexithymia. International Journal Environmental Research Public Health [Internet]. 2022 [Citado 22/12/2023];19:15582. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315582

29. Sharma MK, Anand N, Ahuja S, Thakur PC, Mondal I, Singh P, et al. Digital burnout: Covid-19 lockdown mediates excessive technology use stress. World Social Psychiatry [Internet]. 2020 [Citado 17/01/2023];2(2):171-2. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.4103/wsp.wsp_21_20

Published

2024-05-08

How to Cite

1.
Huamán Carreón CA, Bolaños Calderón RA, Argota Pérez G, Benites Noriega J, Condori Cruz R, Castillo Machaca JE, et al. Cognitive fatigue in older adult university educators during psychoadaptation to digital environments. Rev haban cienc méd [Internet]. 2024 May 8 [cited 2025 Jun. 21];22(6):e5674. Available from: https://revhabanera.sld.cu/index.php/rhab/article/view/5674