Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety and Stress among Health Care Students at the Time of COVID-19: An Online Cross-sectional Study

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Health care students have baseline elevated rates of anxiety, depression and burnout. However, not much is known regarding COVID-19's psychological impact on home-confined medical & nursing students. Aims: This study aimed at assessing the prevalence of stress, anxiety and depression among health care students in Erode district, Tamilnadu during lockdown due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted via an online survey completed by students studying an MBBS and a Nursing degree in Erode district, Tamilnadu. The validated previously published Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) questionnaire was used as a part of the online survey to assess students' stress, anxiety and depression scores. The data were evaluated using descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: A total of 273 health care students (males 29.3%, females 70.7%) completed the survey. 50.9% of students are MBBS students, and 49.1% are nursing students. From those surveyed, the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress in different levels was 40.3% (110), 41.4% (113), and 30% (82), respectively, which are higher during lockdown. Mean depression (10.25 vs 7.75, p=0.05), anxiety (8.53 vs 6.6, p=0.05) and stress (11.76 vs 9.30, p=0.05) scores were higher among females than males. Final year students are having more depression (F=10.37, p=0.04), anxiety (F=9.93, p=0.05), and stress (F=9.97, p=0.05) than others, and it is confirmed using one-way ANOVA F-test. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 epidemic, stress, anxiety, and depression levels among health care students in Tamil Nadu were high. As a result, immediate and suitable psychological therapies for healthcare students should be undertaken to prevent the psychological harm caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, which might negatively impact their learning.