The Effects of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak on Medical Students

Bibliographic Data

ID15523268
AuthorsKadir Bilgi (0000-0001-8577-9364, Bezmiâlem Vakıf Üniversitesi, corresponding author), Gamze Aytaş (Bezmiâlem Vakıf Üniversitesi), Utku Karatoprak (Bezmiâlem Vakıf Üniversitesi), Rümeyza Kazancıoğlu (0000-0003-1217-588X, Bezmiâlem Vakıf Üniversitesi), Semra Özçelik (0000-0001-9237-6723, Bezmiâlem Vakıf Üniversitesi)
Year2021
Volume12
Pages637946-637946
Publication date2021-03-16
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1664-0640 • E-ISSN: 1664-0640
PublisherFrontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpsyt.2021.637946
PMID33796035
OpenAlexW3138850442
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited25

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has influenced the whole world, where after the first case was diagnosed in Turkey, educational activities were suspended and partial curfews were implemented. This study was conducted to assess the concerns faced by the medical students about their professional life due to the disrupted educational activities and related psychological effects. Methods: This is a cross-sectional survey study, conducted with self-administered questionnaires on Bezmialem Vakif University medical students, during the pandemic. The questionnaire consists of queries about demographics, environmental factors, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scales. Results: A total of 178 students participated in the study, with a female-to-male ratio of 5:2. Of the total respondents, 19.7% were experiencing severe anxiety, 17.4% moderate anxiety, and 37.1% mild anxiety, according to the GAD-7; and 13.5% of the respondents were experiencing severe depression, 21.9% moderate-severe depression, and 23% mild depression according to the PHQ-9. There was no statistically significant difference between the grades in terms of GAD-7 or PHQ-9 scores. Male participants were more likely to have suicidal thoughts ( p = 0.013). According to our study, the factors with the highest influence on students were as follows: "Major changes in personal life," "Disruption in educational activities," and "Covid-19 related anxiety of loss of relatives and contamination or infection." On average, women voted higher points for "Covid-19 related anxiety of loss of relatives and contamination." Conclusions: We found that a significant portion of students regardless of their year in medical school were profoundly affected by the pandemic process as is shown by their anxiety and depression scores. The disruption in educational activities is one of the main factors of these effects, and we believe that these should not be ignored, as they could in the future lead to a series of problems for medical education and students alike

Anxiety · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Cross-sectional study · Demographics · Depression (economics · Depressive symptoms · Disease · Generalized anxiety · Generalized anxiety disorder · Infectious disease (medical specialty · Outbreak · Pandemic · Pathology · Patient Health Questionnaire · Psychiatry · Clinical Psychology · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Demography · Health and Well-being Studies · Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout · Medicine · Psychology · Internal Medicine

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