Prevalence of anxiety and depression during COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare students in Jordan and its effect on their learning process: A national survey

During pandemics, including the most recent COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health of university healthcare students' is expected to be affected negatively, impacting the students' learning process. The aim of this study was to assess the level of anxiety and depression of healthcare students living in Jordan, and the effect on their learning process during the COVID-19 pandemic. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted via an online survey completed by students studying a healthcare-oriented degree in a university in Jordan. Participants were recruited through social media (Facebook and WhatsApp). The validated previously published Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire was used as a part of the online survey to assess students' anxiety/depression scores. Students' responses regarding their learning process during the COVID-19 was also assessed. The mean age of participants was 21.62 (SD = 4.90), with the majority being females (67.1%). The HADs' assessment revealed that 43.8% and 40.0% of participants had normal anxiety and depression scores, while 22.4% showed borderline abnormal anxiety/depression scores (33.8%). Many students (33.8%) were classified to have abnormal anxiety scores, while a smaller proportion (26.2%) was classified to have abnormal depression scores. Smoking (p = 0.022), lower family income (p = 0.039), and use of medications (p = 0.032) were positively associated with higher (worse) anxiety scores. Ranking the learning process during COVID-19 showed that 45.8% of the participants believed it was a 'good/very good/excellent' process. Anxiety and depression levels amongst university healthcare students in Jordan were found to be high when assessed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the learning process during the pandemic was not accepted by more than half of the students. Implementing psychological interventions for healthcare students during pandemics is strongly recommended in order to optimize students' mental health and their learning process alike.