Perception of undergraduate medical students toward stressors and de‑stressors during COVID‑19 pandemic: Online cross‑sectional survey from a medical institute in Eastern India

COVID‑19 has affected the quality of life of all age groups. Medical education during the pandemic shifted to online mode due to lockdown restrictions. The stress felt by medical students during the pandemic has been studied less. The current study aimed to assessed the stressors and de‑stressors for undergraduate medical students during the COVID‑19 pandemic.

A cross‑sectional online survey was conducted for the undergraduate medical students of a tertiary care institute of eastern India. A total of 307 medical students were included in the study by convenient and snowball sampling. A self‑designed semi‑structural questionnaire was created as a Google form and circulated among the students between September and October 2020. A combination of purposive and snowball sampling was adopted. Responses regarding stressors and de‑stressors were recorded on a Likert scale. Data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Categorical variables were presented as percentages and descriptive statistics were performed.

A total of 307 students responded and 64.5% of them were men and 35.5% were women. 47.6% of the students experienced stress due to changes brought about by COVID‑19. Risk of parents getting infection (63.2%), fear of not easily returning home (53.1%), lack of clinical exposure (52.7%), and financial impact (47.9%) were the major stressors perceived by the students. Connecting with family and friends through social media (47.5%), gaming (45.0%), online streaming platform (51.2%), spending time with family members (54.4%) were the coping strategies adopted by these students.

Higher level of psychological stress perceived by the undergraduate students needs psychological intervention. Academic revamp and adaptation of coping strategies are required for the medical under‑graduates.