Feb 18, 2021
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Psychological Distress of Medical Students in Japan: Cross-sectional Survey Study.
Journal of medical Internet research
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- Volume
- 23
- Number
- 2
- First page
- e25232
- Last page
- Language
- English
- Publishing type
- Research paper (scientific journal)
- DOI
- 10.2196/25232
- Publisher
- JMIR PUBLICATIONS, INC
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected medical education. However, little data are available about medical students' distress during the pandemic. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to provide details on how medical students have been affected by the pandemic. METHODS: A 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). RESULTS: Out 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). CONCLUSIONS: Given 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.
- Link information
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- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.2196/25232
- PubMed
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33556033
- PubMed Central
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7894621
- Web of Science
- https://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=JSTA_CEL&SrcApp=J_Gate_JST&DestLinkType=FullRecord&KeyUT=WOS:000619233300006&DestApp=WOS_CPL
- ID information
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- DOI : 10.2196/25232
- ISSN : 1438-8871
- Pubmed ID : 33556033
- Pubmed Central ID : PMC7894621
- Web of Science ID : WOS:000619233300006