Psychological distress among health professional students during the COVID-19 outbreak

Abstract

Background. Due to the drastic surge of COVID-19 patients, many countries are considering or already graduating health professional students early to aid professional resources. We aimed to assess outbreak-related psychological distress and symptoms of acute stress reaction (ASR) in health professional students and to characterize individuals with potential need for interventions. Methods. We conducted a prospective cohort study of 1442 health professional students at Sichuan University, China. At baseline (October 2019), participants were assessed for childhood adversity, stressful life events, internet addiction, and family functioning. Using multivariable logistic regression, we examined associations of the above exposures with subsequent psychological distress and ASR in response to the outbreak. Results. Three hundred and eighty-four (26.63%) participants demonstrated clinically significant psychological distress, while 160 (11.10%) met the criterion for a probable ASR. Individuals who scored high on both childhood adversity and stressful life event experiences during the past year were at increased risks of both distress (ORs 2.00-2.66) and probable ASR (ORs 2.23-3.10), respectively. Moreover, internet addiction was associated with elevated risks of distress (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.60-2.64) and probable ASR (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.50-3.10). By contrast, good family functioning was associated with decreased risks of distress (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.33-0.55) and probable ASR (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.33-0.69). All associations were independent of baseline psychological distress. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that COVID-19 related psychological distress and high symptoms burden of ASR are common among health professional students. Extended family and professional support should be considered for vulnerable individuals during these unprecedented times.

Experiences, impacts and mental health functioning during a COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown: Data from a diverse New York City sample of college students

“…Our findings regarding women's mental health burden align with other COVID-19 studies that have found higher rates of anxiety, depression, and stress using similar well-validated, self-report measures [4,10,12].…”

“…This aligns with prior research identifying relationships between having a relative infected by COVID-19 [6,46], residing in a severely affected area [27,46,47], perceiving more daily impacts [5,11], and worse psychological functioning. Similarly, our finding that positive changes in response to COVID-19 were associated with lower levels of anxiety, stress, and depression converges with COVID-19-specific research on potential sources of resilience including good family functioning [10] and positive reappraisal [48].…”

“…To the best of our knowledge, the study herein is the first to comprehensively examine the prevalence of specific COVID-19-related experiences and mental health functioning of US college students during prolonged mass confinement. Moreover, previous investigations were limited in scope, often focusing only on symptoms of generalized anxiety [11], psychological distress [10], PTSD and depression [27]. Taken together, these studies suggest that COVID-19 is associated with elevated rates of stress, anxiety, depression, and, to a lesser extent, posttraumatic stress symptoms in affected college populations.…”

Swiss University Students’ Risk Perception and General Anxiety during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Overall, COVID-19 studies in students are in line with our findings. Further studies on mental health in similar age groups that did not assess anxiety levels, point to the same direction of a negative impact of COVID-19 on other mental health outcomes [ 23 , 37 ]. The body of evidence, albeit still small, indicates the need to enhance mental health services in universities when such acute stressors occur.…”

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on dental academia. Students’ experience in online education and expectations for a predictable practice.

“…Furthermore, dealing with psychological impact of this pandemic on students' mental wellbeing is another issue that should not be overlooked. Isolated in quarantine, students are with no doubt suffering from anxiety at different levels [1,12,13]. The fear of the unknown, the social distancing and the direct impact of COVID 19 on their future practice.…”