Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Perception of undergraduate medical students toward stressors and de‑stressors during COVID‑19 pandemic: Online cross‑sectional survey from a medical institute in Eastern India

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

. Shreemathi S. Mayya
. Arun Mayya 1
. Maxie Martis 2
. Vani Lakshmi R
. Swayam Pragyan Parida
. Prajna Paramita Giri
. Dinesh Prasad Sahu
. Bimal Kumar Sahoo
. Sonu H. Subba

1 Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, A J Institute of Dental Sciences, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India

2 Nursing College, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

Abstract
ntroduction: COVID‑19 has affected the quality of life of all age groups. Medical education during 
the pandemic shifted to online mode due to lockdown restrictions. The stress felt by medical students 
during the pandemic has been studied less. The current study aimed to assessed the stressors and 
de‑stressors for undergraduate medical students during the COVID‑19 pandemic.
Materials and methods: A cross‑sectional online survey was conducted for the undergraduate 
medical students of a tertiary care institute of eastern India. A total of 307 medical students were 
included in the study by convenient and snowball sampling. A self‑designed semi‑structural 
questionnaire was created as a Google form and circulated among the students between September 
and October 2020. A combination of purposive and snowball sampling was adopted. Responses 
regarding stressors and de‑stressors were recorded on a Likert scale. Data analysis was performed 
using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Categorical variables were presented 
as percentages and descriptive statistics were performed.
Results: A total of 307 students responded and 64.5% of them were men and 35.5% were women. 
47.6% of the students experienced stress due to changes brought about by COVID‑19. Risk of parents 
getting infection (63.2%), fear of not easily returning home (53.1%), lack of clinical exposure (52.7%), 
and financial impact (47.9%) were the major stressors perceived by the students. Connecting with 
family and friends through social media (47.5%), gaming (45.0%), online streaming platform (51.2%), 
spending time with family members (54.4%) were the coping strategies adopted by these students.
Conclusion: Higher level of psychological stress perceived by the undergraduate students needs 
psychological intervention. Academic revamp and adaptation of coping strategies are required for 
the medical under‑graduates.

Keywords

COVID‑19
de‑stressor
medical students
pandemic
psychological stress
SARS‑CoV‑2
stressor
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Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Volume 12, Issue 6
July 2022
Pages 1-6

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