Services on Demand
Journal
Article
Indicators
- Cited by SciELO
- Access statistics
Related links
- Cited by Google
- Similars in SciELO
- Similars in Google
Share
Revista Colombiana de Psiquiatría
Print version ISSN 0034-7450
Abstract
HUARCAYA-VICTORIA, Jeff et al. Factors associated with mental health in Peruvian medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multicentre quantitative study. rev.colomb.psiquiatr. [online]. 2023, vol.52, n.3, pp.236-244. Epub Nov 11, 2023. ISSN 0034-7450. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rcp.2021.06.002.
Objective:
To assess the mental health status and associated factors of Peruvian medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods:
Descriptive, multicentre, correlational study that used the "Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)", the "Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7)" and the "Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R)" questionnaires to evaluate mental health problems.
Results:
A total of 1,238 students from 8 Peruvian medical schools participated in the study. Of these, 68.5% were women, and the mean age was 21.4 years. Depressive symptoms were found in 74% of the participants, anxiety symptoms in 57% and distress symptoms in 65%. The variables associated with the development of symptoms of moderate-severe depression, anxiety and distress were: not having family economic stability, being in the first years of medical training, being female, and fearing that their medical training would be delayed and impaired.
Conclusions:
In a sample of medical students surveyed during the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health problems were common. The factors associated with mental health reported in this study could be useful in identifying vulnerable medical students who require timely psychosocial support and/or psychiatric care.
Keywords : COVID-19; Medical students; Depression; Anxiety; Distress.