Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Education and Mental Health of Medical Students: a Nation-Wide Survey in India

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the education and mental health of undergraduate medical students in India.Methods: A cross-sectional web-based study was conducted among MBBS students of all five years (n=604) selected by random sampling. Participants were administered questionnaires consisting of perceived stress scale (PSS-10), generalised anxiety disorder (GAD-7) for mental health assessment. A COVID-19 impact on medical education (CIME) questionnaire was developed for evaluating the impact on education. Bivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the socio-demographic correlates.Results: The mean score of COVID-19 impact on education, stress and anxiety were 26.2±5.2, 24.5±6.0 and 10.7±6.1 and their overall prevalence were 70.1% (66.4-73.8%), 38.9% (35.0-42.9%) and 54.1% (50.1-58.2%) respectively. There was positive correlation between CIME and stress (r=0.382, p<0.01) and anxiety (r=0.321, p<0.01). Internship [aOR=3.5 (1.5-8.3), p=0.003], not having romantic partner [aOR=1.4 (1.1-1.9)], stress [aOR=2.3 (1.4-3.7)] and anxiety [aOR=1.6 (1.1-2.5)] were positive predictors (p<0.05) of severe impact on education.Conclusions: There was a severe impact of the pandemic on education of majority of the students. The stress and anxiety levels during the pandemic were relatively higher than usual indicating generalized worsening. Poor mental health outcomes and negative impact on education were evident positive predictors and correlates of each other.