The psychological impact of COVID-19 on North Indian medical students: A cross-sectional and observational study

Abstract

Background: In India, the second wave of COVID-19 had serious implications, including an increase in case load, a reduction in key treatment supplies, and an increase in death, particularly among the younger generation. Medical students were also plagued by this scenario, which included assignment in COVID wards and involvement in COVID patient treatment. We wanted to know how the second wave of COVID affected these medical students psychologically. For medical students, the COVID-19 epidemic has created a frustrating dichotomy. This virus not only has an impact on people’s physical health, but also mental health. According to the existing per-pandemic evidence, medical students’ health is worse than the general population. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to study the psychological impact of COVID-19’s second wave on medical students. Materials and Methods: An online survey of depression, anxiety, and stress scale-21 (DASS-21) was conducted among the medical students of North India. Their sociodemographic information was collected, comparison of postgraduate and undergraduate DASS-21 scores was done, different component led DASS-21 scores were assessed in overall study population, students were also asked to report their timings in hospital and challenges during hospital hours. The statistical scores for the responses were calculated and other demographic parameters were compared. Appropriate statistical analysis of the collected data was done (IBM SPSS version 20.). Results: A total of 538 responses were gathered from all undergraduate and postgraduate students; out of which 47.6% were undergraduate students and 52.4% were postgraduate students working in different medical colleges of North India. We categorized the psychological stress in five categories: Normal, mild, moderate, severe, and extremely severe. To our surprise, we found that many students were suffering from extremely severe stress; among which 38.8% had depression, 56.7% had anxiety, and 28.9% had stress. We also categorized the students in undergraduate and postgraduate groups and found that the maximum psychological impact was among postgraduate students as compared to undergraduate students. In postgraduates, extremely severe depression, anxiety, and stress scores were 46.8%, 72.3%, and 43.3%, respectively, around 43% of postgraduate students were suffering from either depression, stress, or anxiety. We also found that females were more stressed and had greater scores than males. Conclusion: During second wave of the pandemic, students’ mental health was affected much more than we think. Thus, it needs to be continuously monitored as this will not only affect their working in wards and hospitals but will also impact their studies and future life.