Sociodemographic Factors and Mental Health in Nursing Students in Times of COVID-19

Introduction: Mental health has been affected during the pandemic by COVID-19, also in nursing students a negative effect on their levels of depression and anxiety has been observed. Objective: To describe the relationship between sociodemographic factors and mental health of nursing students in times of COVID-19. Methods: Quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study, whose population was 577 nursing students of a private university in Trujillo, Peru, enrolled in the semester 2021-01. A sample of 328 students was taken by non-probabilistic convenience sampling. Data were collected using the questionnaires to evaluate anxiety symptoms (GAD-7) and depression (PHQ-9), these instruments were sent through a Google form. Data were processed and described in absolute frequencies and percentages;Pearson's Chi-square test was used for inferential analysis. Results: The sociodemographic factors show that 31.10% belonged to the first cycle, 95.70% were female, 31.40% were aged up to 18 years, 92.10% were single, 68.90% professed the Catholic religion and 85.40% indicated residing in the department of La Libertad. It was also found that 45.40% of the students had mild anxiety and 19.80% severe anxiety;in addition, 39.60% did not present depressive symptoms, 18.90% presented mild major depression and 2.10% severe major depression;only a significant statistical relationship was found between the gender factor and depressive symptoms (p < 0.05). Conclusions: No relationship was found between sociodemographic factors and anxiety symptoms. © 2022, Editorial Ciencias Medicas. All rights reserved.

Effect of an online mindfulness program on stress during the covid-19 pandemic

This research aimed to evaluate the effect of a pilot online mindfulness meditation program on levels of perceived stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. A randomized controlled study was carried out, with 60 participants divided into a control group and an experimental group. The Perceived Stress Scale PSS-10 was used to assess stress levels. The results evidenced statistically significant differences (p<0.05) in the reduction of stress levels in the experimental group after the intervention, denoting a moderate reduction in stress levels (d=0.61). © 2021, Sociedad Europea De Medicina Naturista Clasica. Seccion Espanola. All rights reserved.