Depression, anxiety, and stress among Ugandan university students during the COVID-19 lockdown: an online survey.
Afr Health Sci
; 21(4): 1533-1543, 2021 Dec.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1726491
ABSTRACT
Background:
COVID19 pandemic forced most countries to lockdown, leading to the prolonged closure of many learning institutions. This dramatic shift led to increase of mental illness symptoms among university students.Objective:
To determine the prevalence and factors associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress among Uganda's university students during the COVID-19 lockdown.Methods:
We conducted a one-month online survey using the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21).Results:
Participants n=321 were enrolled with mean age, 24.8(SD=5.1) years and 198(61.7%) were males. The prevalence of mental health symptoms among participants was 80.7%, 98.4%, and 77.9% for depression, high levels of anxiety, and stress, respectively. Statistically significant association between mental health symptoms on multi-logistic regression was found with Males (depression=2.97[1.61-5.48] and stress=1.90[1.07-3.35]), engagement in leisure activity (depression= 1.87[1.01-3.49] and stress=1.98[1.10-3.56]), and being finalist (stress=0.55[0.31- 0.97]). Use of addictive substances seem to potentially alleviate symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in the short term.Conclusions:
The findings of this study suggest a high prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress among university students during the COVID-19 lockdown. Students' mental health should be monitored by all stakeholders, especially as the pandemic progresses.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adult
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Young adult
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
Language:
English
Journal:
Afr Health Sci
Journal subject:
Medicine
/
Health Services
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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