Impact of online teaching on mental health and quality of life among medical teachers during COVID-19 pandemic - A cross-sectional study

Background: Stress is the physiological and psychological response to internal or external stressors. The COVID 19 outbreak caused a sudden shutdown of conventionally designed medical teaching and new digital e-learning methods emerged which invariably affected the psychology of medical teachers. Aims and Objective: To study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and distance teaching on the psychological status of medical teachers. Materials and Methods: A total of 322 medical teachers were included in the study; an online survey was conducted through a social media platform between April and May 2021. The online consent was obtained from all the participants. Participants were asked to complete a modified validated Google Form questionnaire with perceived stress scale (PSS-10) which is a classic stress assessment instrument. Results: The PSS-10 score was significantly high in the medical teachers who were using digital online e-learning methods first time during this COVID 19 pandemic lockdown. Male teachers reported more stress as compared to female teachers. Conclusion: Higher perceived stress among medical teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic should be acknowledged and strategies to mitigate it should be recommended. Proper counseling services should be available to support the mental health and well-being of faculty.