Publication date: May 20, 2026
Understanding pharmacy students’ engagement with e-learning resources is essential for supporting evidence-based learning. The COVID-19 pandemic temporarily intensified reliance on digital materials, creating a unique opportunity to examine how usage patterns evolve once mandatory digital access ends. This study compared pharmacy students’ use and preferences for e-learning resources in 2021, when digital access was required, and in 2026, when usage was voluntary within a more mature digital ecosystem. A repeated cross-sectional survey was administered to all students enrolled in a five-year entry-to-practice pharmacy program at a medical university in the United Arab Emirates. Data were collected in November-December 2021 and January-February 2026. A total of 171 students participated in 2021 and 134 in 2026. While core reading attitudes remained stable, digital engagement increased significantly over time (p = 0. 01). Students in 2026 reported more frequent e-library use, greater electronic reading time, and substantially higher utilization of AccessPharmacy (22. 2% to 67. 2%; p
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| Concepts | Keywords |
|---|---|
| December | Digital learning |
| Pandemic | Digital library |
| Pharmacy | E-learning |
| Students | E-resources |
| Pharmacy education | |
| Student preferences |
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | COVID-19 pandemic |
| pathway | REACTOME | Reproduction |
| disease | MESH | included |