Investigating the level of fear and anxiety among Guilan University of Medical Sciences students during the covid-19 pandemic

The Covid-19 disease has affected almost all the important economic, political, social and even the educational system of the country. Discussing the psychological effects of this viral disease on the health and mental health of people at different levels of society, especially medical students, including nursing and medicine, is very important. In this regard, the present study was conducted in order to identify the level of psychological damage (fear and anxiety caused by covid-19) and its determining factors in participating students.

In a cross-sectional web-based analytical study, 340 nursing and medical students studying at Gilan University of Medical Sciences were selected by Convenience sampling method and examined from November 2 to December 31, 2021. Fear and anxiety caused by covid-19 were measured using the covid-19 fear scale and covid-19 anxiety questionnaire, respectively. analytical statistical tests were used to analyze the data. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 software.

The results showed that the level of fear and anxiety caused by the covid-19 pandemic in nursing and medical students in the first semester of 2021 during the epidemic was mild. The mean score of fear and anxiety of covid-19 in medical students was higher than in nursing students. There was a high correlation between fear score and anxiety score caused by covid-19 (r=0.717, P=0.001). There was a statistically significant relationship between the score of fear of covid-19 with the variables of female gender, student employment and history of covid-19. There was a statistically significant relationship between the total anxiety score of covid-19 and the variables of female gender, student employment and field of study.

Considering the higher score of fear and anxiety in medical students compared to nursing in this university; These students are more at risk of mental health disorders and should be evaluated for mental health disorders. This assessment will provide valuable information for planning to deal with fear and anxiety during the critical conditions of epidemics to managers and trainers of nursing and medical schools in the future.