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?:abstract
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Aim: to assess perception of the state of emergency and associated restrictive conditions due to COVID-19 among medical students and university staff in a Kazakhstani setting. Methods. A cross-sectional study. Altogether, 228 students and staff of the Pavlodar branch of the Semey Medical University participated in an online survey. The visual analog scales were used to study difficulties related to maintaining self-isolation/social distancing, the intensity of information flow, and the extent of psychological stress. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to assess affective symptoms. Categorical variables were analyzed using chi-squared-and Fisher exact tests. Mann-Whitney tests were used for numeric data. Spearman’s correlation were calculated for associations between self-isolation/social distancing and the perception thereof. Results. In total, 30.3 % of respondents experienced substantial difficulties in maintaining self-isolation/social distancing. Their proportion was higher among those frequently watching, reading or listening to news about COVID-19 (41.7 % vs. 20.0 %, р < 0.001), and getting the information from online bloggers (42.9 % vs. 26.8 %, р = 0.03). The psychological stress was reported by 92.7 % of the respondents. Those who experienced the difficulties with self-isolation/social distancing were more likely to feel excessive stress due to mobility restrictions (30.4 % vs. 6.9 %, p = 0.001), limited interpersonal communication (37.7 % vs. 17.0 %, p < 0.001), distance education (26.1 % vs. 11.3 %, p = 0.006), the suspension/reduction of clinical practice (33.3 % vs. 20.1 %, p = 0.044) than the others. That group with the difficulties had a higher proportion of anxiety (26.1 % vs. 11.9 %, p = 0.008) and depression symptoms (40.6 % vs. 22.0 %, p = 0.004). Positive correlations were observed between the severity of the perceived difficulties and the frequency of watching, reading or listening to COVID-19 news (r = 0.26 p < 0.001). The difficulties correlated with symptoms of anxiety (r = 0.36, p < 0.001) and depression (r = 0.25, p < 0.001), stress due to mobility restrictions (r = 0.50, p < 0.001), limited interpersonal communication (r = 0.39, p < 0.001), and distance education (r = 0.31, p < 0.001). Conclusions. The absolute majority of the respondents experienced psychological stress, severity of which varied in particular conditions of the state of emergency. The difficulties with self-isolation/social distancing were significantly associated with anxiety and depression symptoms.
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