Pharmacy Students' Mental Health and Resilience in COVID-19: An Assessment after One Year of Online Education

Abstract

COVID-19 has impacted mental health and affected education due to the shift to remote learning. The purpose of the current study was to assess the mental health of pharmacy students one year following the onset of the pandemic. A descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire was distributed to pharmacy students. The severity of depression, anxiety, and stress was assessed by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), and resilience was assessed by the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS). COVID-19-related economic, educational, and health stressors, and students’ vaccine attitudes were surveyed. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable analysis were used, and a p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. A total of 561 students participated; 37% had mild-to-moderate depression, 37% had severe-to-extremely-severe anxiety, and 52% demonstrated normal stress levels. Severe depression, anxiety, and stress were associated with smoking and feeling isolated due to COVID-19. Around 40% of students had low resilience, associated with smoking, being in the third or fourth year of pharmacy study, and the consumption of caffeinated beverages. The mean score of satisfaction with online learning was 60.3 ± 21.3%. Only 5% of participants were vaccinated, of which 87% trusted the benefits of vaccines and their role in controlling the pandemic. One year after the onset of COVID-19, depression, anxiety, stress, and low resilience were observed among pharmacy students; the investigation of the long-term mental effects of the pandemic on university students is warranted.

Keywords: BRS; COVID-19; DASS-21; mental health; pharmacy education; pharmacy students.

Figure 1

Flow chart describing the study’s steps and methodology. DASS21: Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale 21 Items; BRS: Brief Resilience Scale; COVID-19: Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Figure 2

Satisfaction of participants with distance learning during COVID-19. The mean scores on the 5-point Likert scale were converted into percentages with a score of 0 corresponding to 0% and a score of 5 corresponding to 100%.