Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical and rehabilitation sciences university students in Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with increased stressful impact among different populations that are at an increased risk of mental health problems, such as university students. To investigate the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical and rehabilitation sciences university students, explore the factors affecting them, and provide helpful recommendations for better mental health. An online survey was conducted with a sample of medical and rehabilitation sciences students. The anxiety visual analogue scale, the perceived stress scale (PSS), and the impact of events scale-revised (IES-R) were applied. A total of 244 students completed the survey (60.7% were female). The mean scores of total anxiety, PSS and IES-R were significantly higher in females than males. 34.5% and 29.4% of the students reported that their sleep and appetite were respectively disturbed during the pandemic. Students with adequate knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic reported a significant decrease in anxiety level (p = 0.01), perceived stress (p = 0.00), and less negative impacts of the pandemic (p = 0.01). This study shed light on factors that play a major role in anxiety, perceived stress and stressful impact of COVID-19 pandemic among medical and health sciences students, such as gender, knowledge, educational level, presence of chronic condition, and family financial status. Developing proper mental health management guidelines and providing psychological support are recommended and should be considered.