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Depression, Anxiety, and Behavioural Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Medical and Nursing Students

Siti Roshaidai Mohd Arifin1,*, Siti Mardhiah Saiful Azmi2, Khadijah Hasanah Abang Abdullah3, Nurul Ain Hidayah Abas4, Rohayah Husain5, Edre M. Aidid6, Karimah Hanim Abd Aziz6, Ramli Musa7, Fathima Begum Syed Mohideen3, Asma Perveen4, Khairi Che Mat5, Izazol Idris8

1 Department of Special Care Nursing, Kulliyyah of Nursing, International Islamic University Malaysia, Indera Mahkota Campus, Kuantan, 25200, Malaysia
2 Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya, 47810, Malaysia
3 Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Bandar Baru Nilai, 71800, Malaysia
4 Department of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Human Development, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim, 35900, Malaysia
5 Psychological Medicine Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Terengganu, 21300, Malaysia
6 Department of Community Medicine, Kulliyyah of Medicine, International Islamic University Malaysia, Indera Mahkota Campus, Kuantan, 25200, Malaysia
7 Department of Psychiatry, Kulliyyah of Medicine, International Islamic University Malaysia, Indera Mahkota Campus, Kuantan, 25200, Malaysia
8 Department of Educational Studies, Faculty of Human Development, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim, 35900, Malaysia

* Corresponding Author: Siti Roshaidai Mohd Arifin. Email: email

(This article belongs to this Special Issue: Impact and Expectations by COVID-19 Pandemic: Citizens and Firms Views)

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion 2022, 24(5), 749-757. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2022.020972

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical and nursing students are faced with various challenges such as the need to attend online classes and juggling clinical postings under the new norm. This study aimed to assess the association between depression, anxiety, and behavioural changes among medical and nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online self-administered questionnaire was distributed between March 2021 and July 2021 to 292 undergraduates medical and nursing students in a higher education institute on the East Coast of Malaysia. The questionnaires consisted of four parts: sociodemographic data, the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and questions related to behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study found that 23.6% and 33.6% of the students experienced anxiety and depression respectively, possibly caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Anxiety was associated with a high level of behavioural changes during the pandemic with a total of 87% of the students showing behavioural changes. Therapeutic interventions such as online counselling and consultation should be implemented by the university to reduce the prevalence of depression and anxiety resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic among medical and nursing students.

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Cite This Article

Roshaidai, S., Mardhiah, S., Hasanah, K., Ain, N., Husain, R. et al. (2022). Depression, Anxiety, and Behavioural Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Medical and Nursing Students. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 24(5), 749–757.



cc This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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