Effect of counseling on the mental status of undergraduate medical students during the pandemic — a prospective quasi-experimental study at a district medical college of west bengal

ABSTRACT

Background: Studies show that COVID-19 Pandemic has affected the mental health of all including medical students who already suffer from depression and anxiety but there are not enough studies regarding steps taken towards improving their mental health. Methods: In this study, undergraduate medical students were screened for depression, anxiety or stress. Counseling in the form of small group and positive motivation was started as an institutional program before the pandemic. The counseling process continued throughout the period of lock down via mobile and what’s app messages. The DASS 21 score of this group in March was compared with the DASS 21 score of November and analyzed for any statistical significance. Results: The mean score of depression of these students was 14.46 ± 6.351 and 8.58 ± 6.178 after intervention, mean score of anxiety was 11.04 ± 4.539 and at end of study 5.44 ± 3.445, mean stress level was 15 ± 5.299 and 8.12 ± 5.472 at the end of study, Paired T tests showing p<0.0001. Conclusion: The above study thus proves that counseling and positive motivation, of vulnerable students, significantly improves their mental health status in stressful situations like the Pandemic.