Publication:

Psychological impact of COVID-19 on doctors and medical undergraduate students in a government medical college in Uttar Pradesh, India

Background COVID-19 wrath has influenced the socio economic, physical and mental health well-being of all the citizens. Doctors being at the frontline has been affected substantially by it. The paucity of literature on mental health impact of medical health professionals directed the present study to explore the Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on doctors and medical undergraduates.

Methods A cross section online survey was used for data collection. Socio demographic, COVID 19 related preventive practice, Oslo social support scale-3 (OSSS-3) for social support and impact of events scale-revised (IES-R) scale for assessment of psychological Impact was used. Data was analyzed using SPSS 23.

Results Overall 56 (36.36%) of the participants reported having psychological Impact of whom 25 (43.86%) doctors and 31 (31.96%) students were affected. The predictor variables as derived by the regression model were presence of comorbidity, poor social support and postings in isolation wards.

Conclusions Large scale longitudinal multicentric studies can provide a better picture of the actual magnitude of the mental health impact. The predictive factors should be taken into account for policy making decisions. Coping skills and mental health preparedness for the frontline warriors can be lifesaving and will uplift their morale for better delivery of healthcare services in a resource constrained setting.