Abstract
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected medical education. However, little data are available about medical students’ distress during the pandemic.ObjectiveThis study aimed to provide details on how medical students have been affected by the pandemic.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 717 medical students participated in the web-based survey. The survey included questions about how the participants’ mental status had changed from before to after the Japanese nationwide state of emergency (SOE).ResultsOut of 717 medical students, 473 (66.0%) participated in the study. In total, 29.8% (141/473) of the students reported concerns about the shift toward online education, mostly because they thought online education would be ineffective compared with in-person learning. The participants’ subjective mental health status significantly worsened after the SOE was lifted (P<.001). Those who had concerns about a shift toward online education had higher odds of having generalized anxiety and being depressed (odds ratio [OR] 1.97, 95% CI 1.19-3.28) as did those who said they would request food aid (OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.16-3.44) and mental health care resources (OR 3.56, 95% CI 2.07-6.15).ConclusionsGiven our findings, the sudden shift to online education might have overwhelmed medical students. Thus, we recommend that educators inform learners that online learning is not inferior to in-person learning, which could attenuate potential depression and anxiety.
Highlights
The COVID-19 global pandemic has drastically changed our lives, with more than 93 million cases and 2 million deaths reported globally as of January 17, 2021, according to statistics from the World Health Organization [1]
The pandemic led to significant declines in the global economy, and the uncertainty and fears associated with COVID-19 led to increases in mental health disorders
A previous cross-sectional study performed in the Asian-Pacific region looked into the psychological impact of COVID-19 on health care worker internet CBT (I-CBT) (HCW) and noted that the burden of COVID-19 cases might not be related to psychological adversity; the increasing number of cases and mortality of COVID-19 continues to threaten the well-being of HCWs [3]
Summary
The COVID-19 global pandemic has drastically changed our lives, with more than 93 million cases and 2 million deaths reported globally as of January 17, 2021, according to statistics from the World Health Organization [1]. The pandemic led to significant declines in the global economy, and the uncertainty and fears associated with COVID-19 led to increases in mental health disorders. According to a systematic review by Xiong and colleagues, high rates of anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and psychological distress were reported in the general population [2]. In Japan, more than 300,000 cases have been confirmed as of January 17, 2021, with an explosion in the number of cases in early April, August, and November 2020 [4]. The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected medical education. Little data are available about medical students’ distress during the pandemic
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