Repercussions of COVID-19 on Daily Life Routine and Psychological Attributes of Medical Students towards Online Classes

Abstract

Background: The novel coronavirus disease or Covid-19 is caused by a virus ofa strain named Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Countries enacted a strict self-isolation order as the authorities seek to clamp down on the coronavirus pandemic that has led to severe socio-economic disruptions to minimize close contact between individuals. One of them is the concept of work from home and the continuation of studies through online sessions. The study aimed to examine the psychological health of medical students in this quarantine period and the effect of this on their daily life activities and their attitude towards online classes.

Methods: It was a cross sectional study conducted in the Clifton campus of Ziauddin University Karachiin April 2020. Medical students studying in 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd year MBBS were included in the study. The total calculated sample size was n=105 however, 182 responses were received and data were analyzed. To assess psychological health depression, anxiety and stress scale (DASS) was used among study participants. In order to identify its effects on daily routine and attitude self-administered questionnaires were formulated. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.

Results: The DASS scale analysis showed that most of the students belonging to different educational years scored in severe or extremely severe depression 55(30.2%), anxiety 56(30.8%) and severe stress 32(24.2%) levels according to DASS criteria due to COVID-19. The current pandemic has affected their daily life routine however, 111(61%) favored the decision of conducting online classes.

Conclusion: The current situation has affected medical students psychologically and their daily life routine, students have shown a positive response to online sessions being delivered to them.

Keywords: Medical Students; Psychological Health; Daily Routine; Online Classes.