Self-perceived Mental Health, Resilience, And Attitudes Towards Distance Education Among Pharmacy Students: A Survey From A Country With Crisis During Covid-19

• By: HAMMOUDE, Dalal (Qatar University, Qatar)
• Co-author(s): Dr Dalal Hammoude
  Dr. Samar Younes
  Dr. Jihan Safwan
  Dr. Zeina Akiki
  Dr. Marwan Akel
  Prof. Mohamad Rahal
  
• Abstract:

  Self-perceived mental health, resilience, and attitudes towards distance education among pharmacy students: A survey from a country with crisis during COVID-19
  
  Dalal Hammoudi Halat 1*, Samar Younes 2, Jihan Safwan 2, Zeina Akiki 3, Marwan Akel 4, and Mohamad Rahal 5
  
  1 Academic Quality Department, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
  2 Biomedical Sciences Department, School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Lebanon
  3 Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon
  4 INSPECT-LB: Institut National de Santé Publique, Épidémiologie Clinique et Toxicologie-Liban,Lebanon
  5 Pharmaceutical Sciences Department, School of Pharmacy, Lebanese International University, Lebanon
  
  Introduction: Both the mental health of students and the higher education landscape have been considerably affected by the shift to remote learning during COVID-19 pandemic. In Lebanon, this shift was compounded with the effect of a severe national economic, financial, and social crisis. The objectives of the current study were to assess the mental well-being of pharmacy students almost one year after the start of the pandemic and remote education, to evaluate their resilience, and to explore their satisfaction regarding distance education.
  Method: The study was conducted using a descriptive, anonymous, self-administered, voluntary, cross-sectional survey, incorporating the following sections: students’ sociodemographic data, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 Items (DASS-21) for gauging depression, anxiety, and stress, the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) for resilience, and the students' attitudes towards distance education during COVID-19. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable analyses were employed using SPSS, and a p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
  Results: A total of 561 pharmacy students participated in the survey. The prevalence of at least mild self-perceived depression, anxiety, and stress were 64%, 71%, 48% respectively. Also, 27%, 37%, and 18% of participants expressed severe-to extremely severe self-perceived depression, anxiety, and stress respectively. Self-perceived severe to extremely severe depression was associated with smoking (p=0.01), weight gain during the pandemic (p>0.001), and feelings of isolation (p>0.001). Self-perceived severe to extremely severe anxiety was associated with weight gain during the pandemic (p=0.04), being in last year of pharmacy school (p=0.03), and feelings of isolation (p=0.009). Self-perceived severe to extremely severe stress was associated with the use of antidepressants and/or anxiolytics (p=0.007) and feelings of isolation (p=0.004). Approximately 40% of students displayed low resilience, associated with smoking, being in the third or fourth year of pharmacy study, and lower family income. The average satisfaction score with online learning was 60.3 ± 21.3%, with highest satisfaction being for the use of technology in education and lowest being for remote delivery of laboratory courses, simulation, and pharmacy practice experiences.
  Conclusion: The levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and low resilience among pharmacy students were remarkable and multifactorial, with various significant associations related to lifestyle, demographic, and educational factors. In a country with a multi-faceted collapse, there is need to purposefully explore the well-being of pharmacy students, to ascertain the long-term mental effects of the pandemic and the crisis, and to take the necessary precautions to support the mental health and resilience of pharmacy students.