Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health among Health Sciences Students: A single centre study

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has caused psychological impact on the human being. This study is aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of depression, anxiety and stress among undergraduate students during COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional survey using Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 was conducted on 319 students. The results demonstrated that 21.6% - 32.9% of the students had moderate to extremely severe of depression, anxiety, and stress. Number of close friends and number of persons living at home were identified as their most significant predictors. These findings provide preliminary awareness towards understanding the mental health issue among college students during COVID-19 pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19; mental health; students eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i21.3709