Predictors of emotional wellbeing in osteopathic medical students in a COVID-19 world

Abstract Context In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak a pandemic. Due to the rapid spread, strong contagion, high incidence of lethality in severe cases, and the lack of a pharmaceutical prevention or cure, COVID-19 has posed a serious threat to human life and health. It has also had a tremendous impact on mental health, including fear and worry, difficulty sleeping or concentrating, and increased use of poor coping mechanisms. Osteopathic medical students have had additional concerns regarding the interruption of their studies, closing of clinical rotations, and postponed licensing exams. To date, few reports have focused on osteopathic medical students and their reactions to the outbreak. Objectives To assess resilience, coping, health behaviors, and emotional wellbeing of osteopathic medical students during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods In this cross-sectional study, we distributed an anonymous online survey to all medical students enrolled at Nova Southeastern University in May 2020 (n=1,310) via an e-mail invitation using the institution’s student listservs. Our major study variables were based on published reports and anecdotal evidence; we subsequently developed the Emotional Wellbeing in Healthcare Professions Students Questionnaire (EWB-Q). This EWB-Q contained validated scales to assess the contribution of levels of coping strategies used, personal resilience, and health behaviors on the emotional wellbeing of osteopathic medical students. Multiple linear regression and other statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS v0.26. Results Of the 1,310 students invited to participate, 335 (25.5%) surveys were returned. Of those, 133 had more than 33% of the necessary data missing and were removed, resulting in 202 (15.4%) completed questionnaires. The mean age of the participants was 26.7 years. About half (n=92; 45.5%) were in the clinical phase (years 3 and 4) of their medical school training (in rotations). A significant regression equation was found (F[4,171]=17.481, p<0.000, R 2 =0.290, R 2adjusted=0.274), indicating that levels of coping, personal resilience, and health behaviors (i.e., not sleeping more than usual, not exercising less than usual) accounted for a significant amount of the variance in emotional wellbeing scores in osteopathic medical students. Higher levels of resilience, greater use of coping strategies, not sleeping more than usual, and not exercising less than usual were predictors of emotional wellbeing. Conclusions Cultivating positive mental health should be a high priority for medical educators as they develop and implement curriculum-based initiatives to help medical students bolster their personal resilience and to encourage healthy coping behaviors during times of crisis and beyond. A proactive position that assists with building personal resilience and developing stress management habits is paramount in assisting students who are grappling not only with the challenges of rigorous medical training, but also with the uncertainty and stress that exists during any major global health or socioeconomic crisis.

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The Influence of COVID-19 Stress on Psychological Well-Being Among Vietnamese Adults: The Role of Self-Compassion and Gratitude

10.31219/osf.io/mbg6z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Helpe Pape

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Online Survey ◽

Human Life ◽

Well Being ◽

World Health ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Self Compassion

COVID-19 has become an epidemic affecting all aspects of human life. Vietnam is now encountering the COVID-19 second wave, which puts the mental health of Vietnamese people at risk. Due to the adverse psychological effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic on human psychological well-being in these challenging times, the aims of this study are to examine the relationship between self-compassion and psychological well-being and the role of gratitude and COVID-19 stress as a multimediators model in a cross-sectional study. Participants include 509 Vietnamese adults (Mage = 31.71; SD = 7.28 years) recruited through an online survey. A 26-item Self-Compassion Scale was used to measure self-compassion, gratitude was measured by the 6-item Gratitude in the COVID-19, psychological well-being was measured by the World Health Organization Well-Being Index, and the COVID-19 Stress Scale was used to measure stress and fears symptoms caused by the pandemic. The results support 3 main findings: (a) self-compassion has a direct influence on the psychological well-being (effect = 0.50, p < .001, 95% confidence interval [CI; 0.43, 0.57]), (b) the mediating role of gratitude in this model was significant (effect = 0.07, 95% CI [0.04, 0.10]), and (c) the mediating role of COVID-19 stress and fears in this model was also significant (effect = 0.02, 95% CI [0.01, 0.04]). The study’s results also show that increasing self-compassion and gratitude could help to improve psychological well-being and reduce the influence of COVID-19 stress and fears on the individuals’ mental health.

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University students’ mental health and emotional wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdown

South African Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1177/00812463211012219 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 008124632110122

Author(s):

Maretha Visser ◽

Eloise Law-van Wyk

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

University Students ◽

Online Survey ◽

Human Life ◽

Continuum Theory ◽

Early Years ◽

Stepwise Multiple Regression ◽

Emotional Difficulties ◽

Emotional Wellbeing ◽

Health Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdown had a profound effect on human life. This research explores the influence of COVID-19-related experiences on the emotional wellbeing and mental health of South African university students 3 months into the pandemic. Research data were obtained from an online survey completed by 5074 students. Students reported difficulties in coping with psychological challenges during the lockdown: 45.6% and 35.0% reported subjective experiences of anxiety and depression, respectively. Students scored low on the mental health continuum. Hierarchical stepwise multiple regression analyses showed that some different dimensions predicted emotional difficulties or wellbeing and mental health – confirming the two continuum theory of Keyes. Students’ serious discomfort during lockdown, difficulty adjusting academically and feeling socially isolated contributed most to emotional difficulties. Females, students in their early years of study and students residing in informal settlements were most at risk of experiencing emotional difficulties. Mental health was most predicted by students’ hopefulness. Social, academic, spiritual and physical wellbeing and positive coping strategies influenced both emotional difficulties and mental health. The research serves to alert university authorities to students’ emotional wellbeing, especially of first-year students and students with limited resources. The results could assist university psychological services to provide appropriate support services to enhance students’ adjustment and promote their mental health amid a public health crisis.

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How medical students cope with stress: a cross-sectional look at strategies and their sociodemographic antecedents

BMC Medical Education ◽

10.1186/s12909-021-02734-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Adam Neufeld ◽

Greg Malin

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Online Survey ◽

Medical Training ◽

Participation Rate ◽

Well Being ◽

Clinical Learning Environment ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Brief Cope ◽

Student Coping

Abstract Background Medical training can be highly stressful for students and negatively impact their mental health. Important to this matter are the types of coping strategies (and their antecedents) medical students use, which are only characterized to a limited extent. A better understanding of these phenomena can shed additional light on ways to support the health and well-being of medical students. Accordingly, we sought to determine medical students’ use of various coping reactions to stress and how their gender and year of study influence those behaviours. Methods A total of 400 University of Saskatchewan medical students were invited to complete an online survey. Using the Brief COPE inventory, we assessed students’ reported use of various adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies. Descriptive and comparative statistics were performed, including multivariate analysis of variance, to explore how gender and year influenced coping strategies. Results The participation rate was 49% (47% males and 53% females). Overall, the students’ coping strategies were mostly adaptive, albeit with a few exceptions. Females used more behavioural disengagement, while males used less emotional and instrumental support. Additionally, third years used more denial to cope with stress than students in any other year. Conclusions While few studies report significant sociodemographic effects on medical student coping, our findings raise the possibility that males and females do engage in different coping strategies in medical school, and that the clinical learning environment in third year may provoke more dysfunctional coping, compared to pre-clinical stages of training. Potential explanations and implications of these results are discussed.

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The Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic in Taiwan: An Facebook Online study on Concern/Fear Regarding the Disease and General Anxiety and Relevant Factors (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.21165 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Peng-Wei Wang ◽

Wei-Hsin Lu ◽

Yi-Lung Chen ◽

Dian-Jeng Li ◽

Yu-Ping Chang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Online Survey ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Health Resources ◽

World Health ◽

Regional Government ◽

General Anxiety ◽

Self Confidence ◽

Health Organization

BACKGROUND The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a ‘public health emergency of international concern. Both worry and anxiety are the common psychological impact during the pandemic. The level of and determinants for worry and anxiety during COVID-19 are not well explored. OBJECTIVE The present study aimed to explore the associations of demographic and environmental factors with worry toward COVID-19 and general anxiety among people in Taiwan. METHODS In total, 1970 respondents were recruited through a Facebook advertisement and completed an online survey on worry toward COVID-19, general anxiety during the pandemic, and individual and environmental factors. RESULTS In total, 51.7% and 43.4% of respondents reported high levels of worry toward COVID-19 and general anxiety, respectively. Worse self-rated mental health, lower self-confidence in COVID-19 management, and insufficient mental health resources were significantly associated with high levels of both worry toward COVID-19 and general anxiety. Lower perceived confidence in COVID-19 management by the regional government was significantly associated with a higher level of worry toward COVID-19. Lower perceived social support was significantly associated with a higher level of general anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS The results showed that high levels of worry toward COVID-19 and general anxiety were prevalent during the disease outbreak. Multiple individual and environmental factors related to worry toward COVID-19 and general anxiety were identified. CLINICALTRIAL

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Kesehatan Mental Mahasiswa Fakultas Kedokteran Di Masa Pandemi COVID-19

ARTERI : Jurnal Ilmu Kesehatan ◽

10.37148/arteri.v2i4.184 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 113-120

Author(s):

Athaya Taufiqy

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Medical Students ◽

Literature Review ◽

World Health ◽

Vulnerable Groups ◽

Future Research ◽

Learning Material ◽

Learning Programs ◽

Learning Platforms ◽

Health Organization

December 2019, COVID-19 was first reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has focused attention on the mental health of the various affected populations, medical students being one of the more vulnerable groups. Therefore, this literature review aims to find out how the mental health of Faculty of Medicine students during the COVID-19 pandemic, so that it can be used as learning material to always maintain mental health stability. The method used in this study is a literature review and literature search which was carried out by collecting several electronic journals such as PubMed, NCBI and Google Scholar. Conducted by reviewing journals related to the mental health of medical faculty students during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study involved 49 library sources from 2018-2020. From 7,143 students, 0.9% of them experienced severe anxiety, 2.7% moderate, and 21.3% experienced mild anxiety. In addition, delay in academic activities is a risk factor for experiencing symptoms of anxiety. 40% of students also experience financial difficulties, in terms of e-learning platforms, this problem is a challenge for medical students because financial and social factors can be an obstacle to the development and implementation of effective online learning programs. Future research is urgently needed to provide a better explanation of the tips needed for students in adapting to the changes that occur in order to lead a mentally healthy life in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Attitude & belief towards mental illness and psychiatry as a faculty among medical students at International Medical University, Malaysia

BJPsych Open ◽

10.1192/bjo.2021.362 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (S1) ◽

pp. S125-S125

Author(s):

Debakanta Behera ◽

Ji Yen Ku

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Medical Education ◽

Medical Students ◽

Career Choice ◽

Online Survey ◽

Psychiatric Patients ◽

International Medical ◽

Early Exposure ◽

Medical University

AimsThird year Medical students from the International Medical University, Malaysia were assessed regarding their commonly held attitudes and beliefs for the mental illness in general as well as with respect to psychiatry as a faculty through a survey monkey based survey,BackgroundCommonly held perceptions and prejudices often can be overcame by education and early exposure to facts which also holds true with medical students and their attitude as well as expectations to psychiatry. Ever growing awareness regarding the Mental illness has helped but is unable to complete address the stigma and prejudices associated with it. Also Early exposure to psychiatry in medical education can provide a positive experience to medical students including germinating an interest in psychiatry as a career choice among the students.Method42 students of 3rd and 4th year medical school from International Medical University, Malaysia, some without any exposure to psychiatry, were participated in a survey created on a cloud based online survey link and responded to a questionnaire about the attitude and belief towards mental Illness as well as Psychiatry as a career choice. The results were analysed and data interpreted.ResultMost students (85%) though agreed that psychiatry is a rapidly expanding frontier of medicine sadly only 20% stated that it would be one of the top three career choice. Just under the 50% of the students stated that the psychiatric patients are more likely to harm others. About 95% felt that psychiatric consultations of patients with medical and surgical health problems would be helpful and 90% students shared that they would not feel embarrassed about someone from their family if diagnosed with mental illness.ConclusionPsychiatric exposure in medical education has been recognised as inadequate in general and often exposing medical students to psychiatry early helps improving the stigma and prejudices associated with mental illness. It will also give them sufficient exposure to assess the illness holistically keeping mental health in mind while treating physically ill people and also may inspire them to choose psychiatry as a career choice in a rapidly developing and conservative country such as Malaysia where mental health services are largely inadequate and is the second biggest health issue.

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COVID-19 pandemic- knowledge, perception, anxiety and depression among frontline doctors of Pakistan

BMC Psychiatry ◽

10.1186/s12888-020-02864-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Faridah Amin ◽

Salman Sharif ◽

Rabeeya Saeed ◽

Noureen Durrani ◽

Daniyal Jilani

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Online Survey ◽

Well Being ◽

World Health ◽

Public Health Burden ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Modifiable Factors ◽

Anxiety Depression ◽

Self Reporting Questionnaire

Abstract Background COVID-19 is a global pandemic and has become a major public health burden worldwide. With already fragile healthcare systems it can have long lasting effects in developing countries. Outbreaks especially a pandemic situation evokes fear related behaviors among healthcare professionals and there is always an increased risk of mental health disorders. Therefore, this study aims to determine knowledge and perception about this pandemic, prevalence and factors associated with anxiety/depression among frontline physicians of Pakistan. Methods Data were collected through an online survey released in the last week of March-2020. 389 frontline physicians from all four provinces and 65 cities of Pakistan participated. Survey questionnaire consisted of 4 parts including informed consent section, demographic section, knowledge and perception about COVID-19 pandemic and assessment of depression through World Health Organization Self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ-20). A score of 8 or above on SRQ-20 was used as cut-off to label the participant as depressed. Data was analyzed using SPSS version22. Results A 43% prevalence of anxiety/depression among frontline physicians of Pakistan was reported. Almost all the doctors had moderate to high knowledge score. Majority of participants marked N-95 mask as “essential” during aerosol generating procedures, assessing patients with respiratory symptoms, in COVID patient-care area, ER triage and direct care of COVID-19 patient. Only 12% of the doctors were fully satisfied with the provision of PPEs and almost 94% felt unprotected. In multivariable model, assessing more than five COVID suspects/day (aOR = 2.73, 95% CI: 1.65–4.52), working 20 h/week or less (aOR = 2.11, 1.27–3.49), having children among household members (aOR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.00–2.50) and moderate to low knowledge of the infection (aOR = 2.69, 95% CI: 1.68–4.31) were found to be independent predictors of anxiety/depression among physicians. Conclusion Anxiety/depression among more than a third of frontline doctors of Pakistan warrants the need to address mental health of doctors caring for patients during this pandemic; control modifiable factors associated with it and explore the effectiveness of interventions to promote psychological well-being of physicians.

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Relationship between coping strategies, dimensions of burnout syndrome and life quality in medical students / Relação entre estratégias de coping, dimensões da síndrome de burnout e qualidade de vida em estudantes de medicina / Relación entre estrategias de afrontamiento, dimensiones de la calidad de vida y síndrome de burnout en estudiantes de medicina

Revista de Enfermagem da UFPI ◽

10.26694/reufpi.v9i0.9151 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Rafaella Do Carmo Ribeiro ◽

Milena Nunes Alves de Sousa

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

World Health Organization ◽

Life Quality ◽

Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽

Burnout Syndrome ◽

World Health ◽

Calidad De Vida ◽

Health Organization ◽

De Medicina

Objetivo: correlacionar as estratégias de enfrentamento, dimensões de Burnout e qualidade de vida em estudantes de Medicina. Metodologia: pesquisa transversal, descritiva e correlacional. Amostra não probabilística intencional, representada por 76,66% do universo. Aplicaram-se três instrumentos validados: Inventário de1 Estratégias de Coping, Maslach Burnout Inventory - Students Survey e World Health Organization of Life-Bref. Os dados foram analisados a partir de estatística descritiva, Correlações de Pearson e regressão linear múltipla com método Stepwise. Resultados: a estratégia fuga e esquiva teve correlação negativa com os aspectos psicológico e social de qualidade de vida, ao contrário da resolução de problemas e reavaliação positiva que demonstraram correlação positiva. Quanto às dimensões de Burnout, confronto e afastamento mostraram relação positiva com exaustão emocional e descrença. Fuga e esquiva correlacionou-se positivamente apenas com descrença, enquanto resolução de problemas correlacionou-se de forma negativa. Reavaliação positiva associou-se à eficácia profissional positivamente. Conclusão: todas as dimensões da síndrome de Burnout foram afetadas pela utilização das estratégias de enfrentamento e os aspectos da qualidade de vida mais comprometidos por essas estratégias envolveram o psicológico e social dos alunos.Descritores: Adaptação Psicológica. Qualidade de Vida. Burnout. Estudantes de Medicina.

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Online Survey of the Impact of COVID-19 Risk and Cost Estimates on Worry and Health Behavior Compliance in Young Adults

Frontiers in Public Health ◽

10.3389/fpubh.2021.612725 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Gabriella Imbriano ◽

Emmett M. Larsen ◽

Daniel M. Mackin ◽

Akaisha Kaixuan An ◽

Christian C. Luhmann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Behaviors ◽

Perceived Risk ◽

Online Survey ◽

World Health ◽

Cost Estimates ◽

Social And Emotional ◽

State Worry ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

Health Organization ◽

The Impact

The novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is associated with elevated rates of anxiety and relatively lower compliance with public health guidelines in younger adults. To develop strategies for reducing anxiety and increasing adherence with health guidelines, it is important to understand the factors that contribute to anxiety and health compliance in the context of COVID-19. Earlier research has shown that greater perceived risk of negative events and their costs are associated with increased anxiety and compliance with health behaviors, but it is unclear what role they play in a novel pandemic surrounded by uncertainty. In the present study we measured (1) perceived risk as the self-reported probability of being infected and experiencing serious symptoms due to COVID-19 and (2) perceived cost as financial, real-world, physical, social, and emotional consequences of being infected with COVID-19. Worry was assessed using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PWSQ) and health compliance was measured as endorsement of the World Health Organization (WHO) health directives for COVID-19. Our results showed that greater perceived risk and costs of contracting the COVID-19 virus were associated with greater worry and while only costs were associated with greater compliance with health behaviors. Neither self-reported worry nor its interaction with cost estimates was associated with increased engagement in health behaviors. Our results provide important insight into decision making mechanisms involved in both increased anxiety and health compliance in COVID-19 and have implications for developing psychoeducational and psychotherapeutic strategies to target both domains.

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DOES CAFFEINE INTAKE INFLUENCE MENTAL HEALTH OF MEDICAL STUDENTS?

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine ◽

10.37268/mjphm/vol.21/no.2/art.626 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 22-28

Author(s):

Zaleha Md Isa ◽

Afraah Amani Anuar ◽

Amirul Danial Azmi ◽

Sanjeevaraj Tamil Selvan ◽

Noor Shafiqah Hisham ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Medical Students ◽

Online Survey ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Caffeine Intake ◽

Caffeine Consumption ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Prevalence Of Depression ◽

Relationship Of

Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) consumption among students is known to increase alertness and energy, as well as to alleviate stress. There has been an increase of caffeine consumption amongst young adults. Currently, there are no studies regarding caffeine consumption and its influence on mental health among Malaysians. We aimed to determine the relationship of caffeine consumption with depression, anxiety and stress among medical students. A cross sectional study was conducted among medical students in the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Data were collected via an online survey using two questionnaires, namely the semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaires on Caffeine Intake and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). A total of 262 medical students completed the survey. The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was 9.2%, 16.8% and 1.1%, respectively. Majority of students (98.5%) consumed caffeine from coffee, tea, soft drinks, energy drinks and chocolate drinks/food. The median daily caffeine consumption among consumers was 67.98 (25th,75th percentile: 24.83, 139.71) mg/day. There was a significant association between race and anxiety (p=0.038) in which the Malay students had the highest prevalence (21.1%), followed by Indian (16.1%), other races (15.4%) and Chinese students (3.8%). Caffeine consumption did not influence mental health of medical students in this study. Anxiety is the most prominent mental health problem among them. We recommend a programme tailored to medical students in recognising symptoms of mental health problems so that early intervention can be carried out.

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