The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, now a global health crisis, has surprised health authorities around the world. Recent studies suggest that the measures taken to curb the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak have generated issues throughout the population. Thus, it is necessary to establish and identify the possible risk factors related to the psychosocial and psychophysiological strain during the COVID-19 outbreak. The present extensive literature review assesses the social, psychological, and physiological consequences of COVID-19, reviewing the impact of quarantine measures, isolation, vast human loss, social and financial consequences in the family’s economies, and its impact on the psychological health of the population. We also discussed the effect of psychophysiological factors, considering the impact of physical inactivity and modifications in nutritional habits, at psychological and physiological levels. The present review includes an actualized to date bibliography, articles for which were methodologically analyzed to verify they met the standards of quality and scientific accuracy. Authors understand the pandemic as a multifactorial event for which only a profound and extensive analysis would lead to better compression and efficient intervention in the near future.

The aim of this study was to analyze the psychophysiological response of Physiotherapy degree students during a complete clinical practice as well as their psychological profile in relation to coping style in stressful situations, and its impact on academic performance. We analysed in 15 students heart rate variability (HRV) to analyse autonomic modulation in three moments during the entire clinical practices of 3 months (4 h per day, 3 days per week), first session, middle session and last session; perceived stress, personality, life engagement, cognitive flexibility before starting the clinical practice the academic performance after the clinical practice. Results based on HRV and related indexes parameters fail to indicate the expected autonomic adaptation during the practice. A complete clinical practice of Physiotherapy degree students did not produce an habituation process since a high sympathetic autonomic nervous system modulation was measured in the beginning, at the middle and at the final of the clinical practice. Below-average scores are presented in a personality factor associated with traditional and non-adaptive coping styles that could explain the non-habituation of the students. Finally, none of the analyzed indexes has been able to relate to academic performance.

Background: This research aimed to analyse the psychological profile of nursing students and its relationship with the physiological anticipatory anxiety response at the earliest clinical practices; and to analyse the habituation response at the psychophysiological level of nursing students throughout their first clinical practices. Methods: 18 students of the first year of Nursing degree were studied in their first clinical stays. Their psychophysiological stress response was evaluated throughout the analysis of the autonomic modulation and their subjective perception to stress at the beginning and at the end of the stays. In addition, an inventory of psychological test was carried out to observe its association with the psychophysiological stress response. Results: The results showed that the students presented a large anticipatory anxiety response at the beginning of the stays, as well as an absence of a habituation process during the stay. It was also observed a positive relation between the loneliness perceived and the autonomic stress response. Conclusion: The clinical stays in the hospital performed by first year students of the nursing degree, did not produce the expected habituation response at psychophysiological level. Also, a higher perception of social isolation was significantly related with a higher objective (sympathetic modulation) and subjective (perceived stress) stress responses.

The aim of the present study was to explore changes in the autonomic stress response of Psychology students in a Psychology Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and their relationship with OSCE performance. Variables of autonomic modulation by the analysis of heart rate variability in temporal, frequency and non-linear domains, subjective perception of distress strait and academic performance were measured before and after the two different evaluations that composed the OSCE. A psychology objective structured clinical examination composed by two different evaluation scenarios produced a large anxiety anticipatory response, a habituation response in the first of the evaluation scenarios and a in the entire evaluation, and a no habituation response in the second evaluation scenario. Autonomic modulation parameters do not correlate with academic performance of students.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of the worldwide population. Citizens suffer the social, economic, physiological, and psychological effects of this pandemic. Primary sources, scientific articles, and secondary bibliographic indexes, databases, and web pages were used for a consensus critical review. The method was a narrative review of the available literature to summarize the existing literature addressing mental health concerns and stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The main search engines used in the present research were PubMed, SciELO, and Google Scholar. We found the pandemic has had a direct impact on psychopathologies such as anxiety, increasing its ratios, and depression. Other syndromes such as burnout and post-traumatic stress disorder have increased with the pandemic, showing a larger incidence among medical personnel. Moreover, eating disorders and violence have also increased. Public authorities must prepare healthcare systems for increasing incidences of mental pathologies. Mental health apps are one of the tools that can be used to reach the general population.

Simulation is used to facilitate new learning in a variety of situations. One application of simulation could be to help therapists gain therapeutic skills prior to seeing clients. This particular study was interested in measuring changes in stress response by looking at subjective and objective measures of distress (as measured by SUDS, HR, and HRV) over three sessions of simulated therapy. 16 second year psychology students participated in three sessions, and had their HR and HRV measured by Polar watches. Over the three sessions, there was a decrease in perceived distress, as measured by SUDS ratings. During and between sessions, there was inconclusive change in physiological parameters.

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The simulation scenarios are increasingly being used to assess professional competences in health sciences at university level. The objective of this study was to explore the effect of differences in the stress psychophysiological response of Psychology degree students from Spain and Colombia undergoing to clinical practice. Multiple psychophysiological measures were obtained in a sample of 25 Colombian and Spanish Psychology students undergoing to simulation scenario. Differences in the initial level of stress and habituation process as reported by self-reported and psychophysiological measurements as discussed. Differences in stress-related psychological traits are also analyzed and further discussed.