Effect of Online Metacognitive Training on Health Anxiety and Mental Health of Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Objectives Students are the spiritual assets of each country. Anxiety and mental health problems negatively affect their performance. This study aims to assess the effect of online group metacognitive training on the medical students’ health anxiety and general health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This a randomized clinical trial. Participants were 56 students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences aged 18-30 years who were selected by a convenience sampling method and were randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control. The intervention group received online metacognitive training at 8 sessions, each for one hour, while the control group did not receive any intervention. At three stages of pre-test, post-test, and one-month follow-up, they completed Salkovskis and Warwick’s short health anxiety inventory and the 28-item general health questionnaire. Data were analyzed in SPSS software, version 23. Using the repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. Results Metacognitive training was effective in reducing health anxiety and improving general health of students (P<0.05). The results remained significant one month after the intervention. Conclusion Metacognitive training online can reduce health anxiety and improve general health of medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic.