Psychological Impact of War on Medical Students at Alzaeim Alazhari University, Khartoum/ Sudan 2024

Abstract

<i>Introduction: </i>Sudan war was started in April 2023, resulted in displacement of more than 10 million people and negatively impacted the psychological status of Sudanese population. This study aimed to determine the effect of war on the psychological status of Alzaeim Alazhari university (AAU) medical students.<i> Methodology: </i>Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on a purposive convenience sample of 201 medical students. DASS 21 score was used to measure depression, anxiety, and stress disorders among medical students. Frequency tables, Chi-squared (χ<sup>2</sup>) tests and binary logistic regression analysis were used to identify the determinants of depression, anxiety and stress among medical students surveyed. All statistical tests were considered significant when <i>p-value</i>< 0.05.<i> Results: </i>More than half of the participants (56.7%) were females, aged 24 years or older (53.2%). Regarding the places to which participants were displaced due to the war, out of 181 participants (49.7%) reported that they were displaced to other cities in Sudan, while the remaining (50.3%) were displaced outside the country. Based on DASS-21 score, significant prevalence of depression (67.6%), anxiety (58.2%), and stress (53.2%) were identified among the participants. Gender (<i>p valu</i>e=0.001) and place of displacement (<i>p valu</i>e=0.007) were found to be strong determinants of depression. Females were 11.2 times more likely to exhibit depression, 14.4 times to suffer from anxiety and 12.9 times to have stress than males. Displacement outside Sudan affects the probability of developing depression by 7.3 times and stress by 4.7 times. Displacement to another city in Sudan found to affect the probability of exposure to stress by 4.3 times, <i>Conclusion: </i>War and displacement resulted in a high prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among medical students. Females were more likely to experience depression and anxiety. Displacement and effects on the economic status play an important role in the deterioration of the psychological status. Efforts must be directed to decrease the burden of war on the medical students including psychological and financial support. Updated medical schools’ curricula in Sudan as a coping strategy to suit the new situation after war are recommended.