Open Access

ARTICLE

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

Siti Roshaidai Mohd Arifin^1,*, 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:

(This article belongs to the 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

Received 21 December 2021; Accepted 13 April 2022; Issue published 27 July 2022

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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Keywords

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