Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has significantly caused socioeconomic impacts. However, little is known about the psychological effect of COVID-19 on home-quarantined nursing students. The present study aimed to identify the prevalence and major determinants of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in Chinese nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine period. An online survey was conducted on a sample of 6,348 home-quarantined nursing students. Mental health status was assessed by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-Item Scale (PHQ-9) and the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Check List-Civilian version (PCL-C), respectively. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors of anxiety, depression and PTSS. The overall prevalence of anxiety was 34.97%, and the rates of “mild,” “moderate,” and “severe” anxiety were 26.24, 7.04, and 1.69%, respectively. Depression was detected in 40.22% of the nursing students, and the prevalence of “mild,” “moderate,” “moderately severe,” and “severe” depression was 27.87, 7.18, 4.08, and 1.09%, respectively. The overall prevalence of PTSS was 14.97%, with the prevalence of “mild” and “moderate-to-severe” PTSS reported at 7.04 and 7.93%, respectively. Male gender and insufficient social support were common risk factors for anxiety, depression and PTSS. In conclusion, about one-third, two-fifths, and one-seventh of Chinese nursing students had anxiety, depression and PTSS during the period of home quarantine, respectively. Timely and appropriate psychological interventions for nursing students should be implemented to reduce the psychological harm caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was first detected in early December 2019 in Wuhan, China [1]
Students facing long-term home quarantine and online learning are prone to a series of stress emotional response such as a higher level of anxiety and other negative emotions [20]
Our study assessed the prevalence of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among home-quarantined Chinese nursing students and explored the related risk factors
Summary
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was first detected in early December 2019 in Wuhan, China [1]. As a major public health emergency, China defines COVID-19 as a category B infectious disease, and adopts the prevention and control measures of category. In addition to causing physical damage, COVID19 affects the mental health of the public. One study found that the rates of mental health symptoms among Chinese general population during the COVID-19 pandemic were 27.9% for depression and 31.6% for anxiety [2]. A recent metaanalysis including 21 psychological studies showed that during this pandemic, mental health problems such as fear, anxiety and depression are common among the medical isolation population, patients with COVID-19 and front-line medical staff [3]. Many previous studies showed that psychological problems of medical students may affect the choice of medical career and even lead to students’ suicide [5,6,7]. Only several studies have reported nursing students’ sleep quality and their stress levels before and during lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic [8,9,10]
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