COVID-19 Online Teaching and its Impact on Psychological Health in Higher Education: A Cross Sectional Study on Medical Students of 1st 2nd and 3rd Year MBBS
Author(s): Akhtar Ali*, Syeda Mahnoor, Sehrish Ahmed, Sobia Naseem, Syed Wajid Shah and Syed Shehryar
Abstract
Background: Covid-19 emerged from Wuhan; China in December 2019 took the whole world in its grip in mere few months the cases were found in almost every part of the globe. Pakistan too, was severely impacted tolling 233,500 cases of the coronavirus and 6,035 deaths to date. Most of the schools and colleges resorted to an online educational platform in order to resume work and discipline in life during such chaos, perhaps the most affected were the professionals of healthcare setup including medical students who reported to have far higher rates of depression than the average person. Objectives: To examine the association of COVID-19 to the prevalence of depression, anxiety, or stress amongst medical students of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year MBBS in this quarantine period and their attitude towards online classes. Methodology: It was a cross sectional study conducted in Clifton campus of Ziauddin University Karachi in the month of May 2020. Medical students studying in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year MBBS were included in the study. The total calculated sample size was n=105, Non-probability Consecutive sampling technique was used to recruit the participants. Depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS) was used to assess psychological health among study participants. Results: DASS score showed that Stress and anxiety were significantly (p=0.001) prevalent in students however there are no significant findings observed related to depression, many responded that their life routine is altered and their attitude towards online session was significantly positive. Conclusion: Stress and anxiety was found to be prevalent in in Medical students predominantly in students studying in 1st year MBBS, their life routine is disturbed and their attitude towards online classes was welcoming.