ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The aim of the study is to compare the emotional effects of COVID-19 among three different groups, namely: health personnel, medical students, and a sample of the general population. METHODS: 375 participants were recruited for this study, of which 125 were medical students (preclinical studies, 59; clinical studies, 66), 125 were health personnel (COVID-19 frontline personnel, 59; personnel not related with COVID-19, 66), and 125 belonged to the general population. The PHQ-9, GAD-7, and CPDI scales were used to assess the emotional impact. A multinomial logistic regression was performed to measure differences between groups, considering potential confounding factors. RESULTS: Regarding CPDI values, all other groups showed reduced values compared to COVID-19 frontline personnel. However, the general population, preclinical and clinical medical students showed increased PHQ-9 values compared to COVID-19 frontline personnel. Finally, confounding factors, gender and age correlated negatively with higher CPDI and PHQ-9 scores. CONCLUSIONS: Being frontline personnel is associated with increased COVID-19-related stress. Depression is associated, however, with other groups not directly involved with the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Female gender and younger age correlated with COVID-19-related depression and stress.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/psychology , Mental Disorders/therapy , Mental Health Services , Preventive Health Services/methods , Student Health Services/methods , Students/psychology , Teaching/psychology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Health Promotion/methods , Health Promotion/organization & administration , Humans , Mental Disorders/diagnosis , Mental Disorders/etiology , Mental Health , Mental Health Services/organization & administration , Preventive Health Services/organization & administration , Student Health Services/organization & administration , Universities , Young AdultABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented event that impacted every segment of healthcare, including universities preparing healthcare professionals. Instituting processes to coordinate student return to campus and ongoing COVID-19 testing and contract tracing challenged university campuses, but also brought opportunities for collaboration. This article reports on the experiences of one nonprofit private higher education university in management of the COVID-19 testing and contact tracing that were led by school of nursing faculty and nursing leadership.
Subject(s)
Contact Tracing/methods , Faculty, Nursing/organization & administration , Leadership , Universities/organization & administration , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , COVID-19 Testing/methods , Cooperative Behavior , Humans , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2 , Student Health Services/organization & administration , StudentsABSTRACT
U.S. college students are a distinct population facing major challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, students were already experiencing substantial mental health concerns, putting both their health and academic success in jeopardy. College students now face increasing housing and food insecurity, financial hardships, a lack of social connectedness and sense of belonging, uncertainty about the future, and access issues that impede their academic performance and well-being. There is also reason to believe that COVID-19 is exacerbating inequalities for students of color and low-income students. We provide several recommendations for institutions of higher education to mitigate these obstacles, including engaging in data-driven decision making, delivering clear and informative messaging to students, prioritizing and expanding student support services, and using an equity framework to guide all processes.