Psychological well-being amongst students in a Malaysian medical college one year into the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

The frequent disruption to the delivery of education and the switch to online learning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic affected students’ mental health. The objectives of the study were to explore the levels of anxiety, depression, somatic symptoms, and stress among students during the COVID-19 pandemic and their associations with sociodemographic status, clinical teaching, and concerns about COVID-19. A cross-sectional study was conducted using convenience sampling via an online self-administered questionnaire-based survey with 285 participants. The survey included questionnaires on sociodemographics, anxiety, depression, somatic symptoms, and stress levels using a validated questionnaire. Data was analyzed using Spearman’s correlation test and ordinal logistic regression to identify correlations between psychological well-being and the effectiveness of e-learning. More than half of the students reported anxiety (57.2%), depression (58.6%), somatic symptoms (54.4%) and moderate to high stress (79.7%) during the pandemic. Students who stated that online role players were not helpful had increased anxiety levels (rho=-0.18, P=0.005). However, somatic symptoms were reduced among students who found campus role players helpful (rho=0.16, P=0.012). More than half the participants (55.8%) felt that they were supported by the university during the COVID-19 pandemic, although most students (91.6%) sought clear information and prompt updates from the university. We found that students with psychological distress experiencing anxiety (OR=2.47, 95% confidence interval, CI=1.49-4.08), depression (OR=3.22, 95% CI=1.94-5.34), somatic symptoms (OR=2.94, 95% CI=1.76-4.91, P<0.001), and stress (OR=3.08, 95% CI=1.76-5.41) would value more mental health support from the university. The university should consider increasing campus role-play sessions and providing prompt updates and mental health resources to help students cope better psychologically during the pandemic.