ABSTRACT
Background The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the mental health of healthcare workers. The World Health Organization estimates a 25% increase in anxiety prevalence during the pandemic. The mental health of students across the health professions during the pandemic is less well understood. Objectives To better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health professional students, a cross-sectional analysis of data collected on enrollment in a cohort study was utilized to examine the prevalence of poor mental health days in association with lifestyle behaviors in seven health sciences colleges at a large public Midwestern university during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study recruited 890 students enrolled full- or part-time across seven health sciences colleges in 2020 and/or 2021 using convenience sampling. Methods Participants completed questionnaires which included socio-demographic questions and items from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor and Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2019 survey. Results The participants reported a median of 7 days with poor mental health (IQR: 3-15 days) in the past 30 days. Female sex (OR 1.70, 95% CI [1.21, 2.38]), Asian race (OR 1.47, 95% CI [1.06, 2.06]), adverse childhood events (OR 2.01, 95 % CI [1.45-2.78]), and frequent cannabis use (OR = 2.03, 95 % CI [1.14-3.61]) were each associated with an increased risk of poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Exercise (OR 0.64, 95 % CI [0.42-0.97]) was found to be a protective factor, during COVID-19. Conclusions and Implications Results indicate the need to design, implement, and evaluate services to support mental health in health sciences students, particularly among certain subgroups. Students who are frequent cannabis users or have significant childhood trauma are more likely to have poor mental health and as such may benefit from additional mental health support. Health promotions around home-based exercise and intramural sports to health professional students along with longer open hours for the gym may be beneficial.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Anxiety Disorders , Wounds and InjuriesABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Objectives The 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. Methods An 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. Results Of 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. Conclusion The 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.