Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine at The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan.
F1000Res. 2021 Apr 19;10:297. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.52051.2. eCollection 2021.
Emotional distress is a major impact of COVID-19 among not only the general public but also healthcare workers including medical students. This study aimed at describing self-reported changes in emotional reactions associated with COVID-19 among medical students in Jordan and to assessing the potential effect of social media utilization on emotional distress among this group. A cross-sectional design was utilized to collect data early on during the outbreak in Jordan. All medical students in Jordan were eligible to complete an online questionnaire assessing self-reported emotional reactions to COVID-19 that covered four main domains: negative emotion (anxiety, worry, depression, panic, loneliness, and nervousness), positive emotion (happiness, joy, and excitement), sleep disorders (insomnia, shallow sleep, nightmares, and insufficient sleep), and aggression (verbal argument and physical fighting). The frequency of social media utilization as a main source of COVID-19 information was also assessed. 59.9% of participants were females, 64.9% were enrolled at the two major medical schools in Jordan, and 59.6% were in the pre-clinical stage (years). A significant proportion of participants self-reported increased negative emotional levels of anxiety (49.2%), worry (72.4%), depression (23.1%), panic (22.6%), and nervousness (38.2%) and decreased positive emotional levels of happiness (44.8%), joy (47.3%), and feelings of excitement (45.1%). Self-reported sleep disorders were not as common (less than 15% for any of the four items), while arguing with others was at 26.7%. Significant differences by gender and academic year were detected. Almost half of participants reported using social media as a main source of COVID-19 information "most/all-the-times" with a significant effect of such on reducing emotional distress. The results suggest a potential effect of COVID-19 on the emotional distress of medical students. Addressing and mitigating such effects is crucial. The potential buffering effect of social media should be further investigated.
情感困扰是 COVID-19 对公众和包括医学生在内的医护人员的主要影响之一。本研究旨在描述约旦医学生自我报告的与 COVID-19 相关的情绪反应变化，并评估社交媒体利用对该群体情绪困扰的潜在影响。研究采用横断面设计，在约旦疫情早期收集数据。约旦所有医学生都有资格完成一份在线问卷，评估他们对 COVID-19 的自我报告情绪反应，涵盖四个主要领域：负面情绪（焦虑、担忧、抑郁、恐慌、孤独和紧张）、积极情绪（快乐、喜悦和兴奋）、睡眠障碍（失眠、浅眠、噩梦和睡眠不足）和攻击性（言语争吵和身体打架）。还评估了社交媒体作为 COVID-19 信息主要来源的使用频率。参与者中 59.9%为女性，64.9%在约旦的两所主要医学院就读，59.6%处于临床前阶段（年级）。相当一部分参与者自我报告焦虑（49.2%）、担忧（72.4%）、抑郁（23.1%）、恐慌（22.6%）和紧张（38.2%）等负面情绪水平增加，幸福感（44.8%）、喜悦感（47.3%）和兴奋感（45.1%）等积极情绪水平下降。自我报告的睡眠障碍并不常见（四项中任何一项都不到 15%），而与他人争吵的比例为 26.7%。性别和学年差异显著。近一半的参与者报告将社交媒体作为 COVID-19 信息的主要来源“大多数/所有时间”，这对减轻情绪困扰有显著影响。研究结果表明 COVID-19 对医学生的情绪困扰可能有影响。解决和减轻这种影响至关重要。应进一步研究社交媒体的潜在缓冲作用。
