Psychological Implications of The Late Phase of COVID-19 Pandemic among Medical Undergraduates, Attending Clinical Wards Rotations in Tertiary Care Hospitals of Rawalpindi, Pakistan: An Online Survey-Based Study

Arham Ihtesham,Bilawal Abbas,Ali Murad Jamal,Ather Iqbal,Shahzaib Maqbool,Arslan Kareem,Arbaz Ahmad,Waleed Inayat Mohamed,Hafiz Abu Safian,Haider Mubeen,Muhammad Sarfraz Khan

doi:10.24018/ejmed.2020.2.5.528

Arham Ihtesham, Bilawal Abbas + Show 9 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.24018/ejmed.2020.2.5.528

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Abstract

 COVID-19 is proving to be a double-edged sword for health care professionals. It is not only causing physical malfunctioning but mental suffering among medical undergraduates. This study demonstrates the psychological impact and various predisposing factors causing mental distress. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study involving 157 medical undergraduates of Third, Fourth, and Final year MBBS being trained in tertiary care hospitals of Rawalpindi, Pakistan in September 2020, when the graph of COVID-19 was flattening. Data was collected through a self-designed questionnaire for demographic details and DASS-21. The mean and standard deviation was calculated for depression, anxiety, and stress levels. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for the severity of DASS-21 and predisposing factors. Data analysis was done through SPSS. V. 25. Out of 157 students, there were 80(51%) males and 77 (49%) females. The mean age was 22.52 (SD=1.60). The overall mean score of anxiety was 7.43 ± 4.53, depression was 7.75 ± 4.12, and stress was 8.15 ± 4.53. This study found that the most common reason for stress and anxiety among students attending wards was the fear that they might infect their family members 42 (26.8%), followed by the fear of getting infected themselves 39 (24.8%). This study doesn’t exhibit a significant mental burden of grave concern however, the anxiety level was high among the Third year and depression level was high among Final year students. Fear of infecting family members and contracting the virus themselves were common reasons for distress.

Highlights

COVID-19, known as coronavirus disease in 2019, a wave of uncontrolled destruction that originated in the city of Wuhan, China in late 2019 and spread in the whole world like a bush on fire in no time [1]
We aimed to evaluate the impact of various psychological parameters i.e. depression, anxiety, and stress on medical undergraduates currently enrolled in clinical curriculum and attending their clinical wards rotations, mostly occupied with COVID-19 patients in three different tertiary care hospitals of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. we aimed to enumerate the various documented reasons for their apprehension on attending the clinical wards including medicine, surgery, and their sub-specialties in this COVID19 pandemic
This study was conducted in September 2020 when the COVD-19 graph was flattening, to find the psychological implications of the COVID-19 pandemic among medical students undertaking training in wards

Summary

Introduction

COVID-19, known as coronavirus disease in 2019, a wave of uncontrolled destruction that originated in the city of Wuhan, China in late 2019 and spread in the whole world like a bush on fire in no time [1]. [3] A wide range of clinical spectrum was observed in people tested positive for COVID-19, ranging from asymptomatic carriers to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and multiorgan failure, [4] the most commonly observed symptoms are fever, fatigue, and dry cough. Secretions, and direct contact with an infected person, human-to-human transmission is documented as a source of spread for COVID-19 named as SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2) [5] In light of such events, it was imperative to enforce preventive measures among the general population around countries to break the chain of transmission by maintaining social distancing, wearing masks, washing hands, restricting movements, and by abiding the restrictions implemented by the local governments [6]. In the given situations multiple factors substantially influence the performance of health care professionals including the fear of contracting the disease, lack of experience to handle such situations, fear of transmitting the virus to family and friends, lack of resources, lack of social support, and poor attitude of the community towards the health care providers [8]

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