Mental Health of US Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Christophers, Briana; Nieblas-Bedolla, Edwin; Gordon-Elliott, Janna; Kang, Yoon Sook; Holcomb, Kevin; Frey, M.K.

doi:10.1007/s11606-021-07059-y

Cited by 37 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 6 publications

(9 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…An individual's cognitive evaluation also affects their stress responses ( 4 ). The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound mental health consequences for many people ( 5 ), especially college students ( 6 ). A previous study indicated that medical University students experienced poor mental states during the COVID-19 outbreak ( 7 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Professional Identity and Career Attitude of Chinese Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey in China

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundAlthough professional identity is a strong predictor of career choice, only a few studies have reported on medical students' career attitude during a public health emergency. This study investigates the changes in medical students' professional identity and career attitude during the COVID-19 pandemic, evaluates their mental health and social support system under stress, and explores the relationship between their career attitude and other factors.MethodsAn online survey of 6,226 Chinese medical students was conducted to collect information on demographics, professional identity, and career attitude. The collected data were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, and the Social Support Rating Scale.ResultsThe results revealed that most (80.8%) of the participants did not change their career attitude and the professional identity of most participants strengthened, and they preferred to participate on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic. The prevalence of depression and anxiety among medical students was 22.86% and 35.43%. Low social support, depressive symptoms, male gender, and higher grades were factors that negatively affected career attitude.ConclusionsAfter the outbreak of the pandemic, it was necessary to conduct diversified professional identity research to support medical students, especially those with low social support and depressive symptoms.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Professional Identity and Career Attitude of Chinese Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey in China

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Other studies conducted during the summer and fall of 2020 indicated increased rates of depression in medical students. 8,9 By the time our survey closed in mid-January 2021, COVID-19 deaths were at their highest peak to date. Despite this, the rate of positive screens for depression in our sample (25.1%) was similar to that reported in a meta-analysis of medical students prior to COVID-19 (27.2%) 6 and in a study conducted early (April 2020) in the COVID-19 pandemic (24.3%), 2 indicating that rates of depression flattened over time.…”

Section: Principal Findingsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Fortunately, the use of mental health resources was much more prevalent among our participants compared with a previous report, which found that only 7% of medical students were currently receiving mental health care. 8 The use of mental health resources by current medical students is reassuring and could be a reason for the lower rates of burnout and suicidal ideation during this time. Those who had ever accessed a mental health professional, either pre-pandemic or during the pandemic, had significantly worse measures of mental health compared with those who did not, suggesting that students who need mental health care the most are the ones receiving this care.…”

Section: Principal Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, there is surprisingly little research about its impacts to the mental health of US medical students, and only general rates of depression and anxiety early in the pandemic are described. 2,8,9 It is vital to understand the full scope of impacts to medical student mental health, including risk factors that predict poorer mental health outcomes, but these data are lacking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Medical student mental health during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Jupina

Sidle

Caudill

2022

The Clinical Teacher

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Prior to the COVID‐19 pandemic, medical students exhibited poorer mental health relative to the general population and other students. This research aimed to assess American medical student mental health during the pandemic's height, while also identifying stressors and vulnerable populations. Methods In this cross‐sectional study, 960 US allopathic and osteopathic medical students completed a mental health survey screening for depression, anxiety, burnout, suicidal ideation and increased substance use during the height of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Potential relationships were explored between these mental health indicators and demographic and environmental factors, such as COVID‐19 exposure. Findings Of the 960 medical students surveyed, 25.1% (n = 241) screened positive for depression, 40.4% (n = 388) screened positive for anxiety, 21.3% (n = 201) met criteria for at least one dimension of burnout, 19.0% (n = 182) started or increased substance use and 7.2% (n = 69) experienced thoughts of self‐harm or suicide. Significant differences (p ≤ 0.01) in measures of mental health were associated with those who had accessed mental health care, had a personal COVID‐19 diagnosis, knew someone who died of COVID‐19 or were female. Conclusions Although rates of anxiety and substance use among medical students in our study were higher than previously reported, rates of burnout and thoughts of self‐harm or suicide were surprisingly lower. These results indicate that some aspects of remote learning imposed by the pandemic could be protective, warranting additional study for post‐pandemic medical education. Meanwhile, medical schools and clerkships should offer additional resources to students particularly vulnerable to stressors, including females and those with personal pandemic impacts.

show abstract

“…10 Another report found that 70% of medical students reported worsening mental health during the initial months of the pandemic. 11 Prospective cohort studies of health professional students initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic could provide much needed information about changes in the physical, mental, and social health of students during the pandemic and their occupational trajectory as they enter the health professional workforce. These insights could inform the design and evaluation of interventions to promote student health and HPE during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rationale and design of the Health Professional Students at the University of Illinois Chicago (HOLISTIC) Cohort Study

Dommaraju¹,

Rivera²,

Rocha³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectivesThe objectives of the HOLISTIC Cohort Study are to establish a 3-year prospective cohort study that characterizes the health of students within and across health professionals’ education programs during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, implement an interprofessional student research team, and inform initiatives to improve student health. This report describes the rationale and design of the HOLISTIC Cohort Study, including recruitment strategy, survey development, data management, and descriptive statistics of the first wave of study participants.MethodsAn interprofessional student research team was formed to continuously inform study design. The first wave of recruitment was conducted from April 14, 2021 to May 5, 2021 across seven health science colleges (applied health, dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health, social work) at the University of Illinois Chicago in Chicago, IL. Eligible students were sent an invitation via email to complete an online survey after providing electronic informed consent. The online survey was based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2019 survey and the 2014 World Health Organization Report of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts Working Group Questionnaire. Two additional recruitment waves are planned in the Spring 2022 and Spring 2023; follow-up of participants previously enrolled will occur during these second and third recruitment waves.ResultsOf 5,118 students invited to participate in the first wave, 553 (10.8%) completed the survey and includes participants from all seven health science colleges. The average age of participants is 27.3 years, 435 (78.8%) identify as female, and 137 (24.8%) identify as an underrepresented minority. Overall, 465 (84.6%) participants reported being currently employed for wages. Just over half (51%) reported no days with poor physical health within a month but only 11.2% reported no days with poor mental health within a month. Nearly one in ten (9.4%) reported having ever had a positive test for COVID-19.ConclusionThe HOLISTIC Cohort Study of health professional students across seven health science colleges has completed the first of three waves of enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the first wave of study participants, increased attention to supporting the mental and physical health of health professional students is needed.

show abstract

Mental Health of US Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 37 publications

References 6 publications

The Professional Identity and Career Attitude of Chinese Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey in China

The Professional Identity and Career Attitude of Chinese Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey in China

Medical student mental health during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Rationale and design of the Health Professional Students at the University of Illinois Chicago (HOLISTIC) Cohort Study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About