Stress, anxiety, and depression in professional graduate students during COVID 19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

Background

The mental health of Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT), and Doctorate of Occupation Therapy (OTD) students was impacted by the COVID- 19 pandemic. The investigators explored the impact of the pandemic on the students’ mental health.

Methods

The study included 90 students from the DPT, MOT, and OTD programs. The data was collected using a survey including demographics and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21.

Results

The prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression increased two-fold in all three disciplines of students. Out of the 90 students, 60% reported stress, 52.2% anxiety, and 53.3% depression. No significant difference was observed between genders, marital status, and the different disciplines.

Conclusion

This study shows that graduate DPT, MOT, and OTD students experienced a significant degree of mental health disorder during the pandemic. Adequate measures need to be adopted to support the well-being of the students and for a successful academic career.

KEY POINTS

What is already known about this topic:

1. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a change in graduate education such as methods of teaching, practical learning strategies, and evaluation techniques.

2. Changes in education methods resulted in a higher prevalence of mental health issues including stress, anxiety, and depression in students and the general population.

3. DASS-21 is a reliable and valid scale to measure stress, anxiety, and depression.

What this topic adds:

• (1) This study explored mental health issues in physical therapy and occupational therapy profession graduate students in the United States.

• (2) It recognized a two-fold increase in stress, anxiety, and depression in graduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• (3) This study documented no difference in perceived stress, anxiety, and depression between the Flex program and residential program as well as DPT, MOT, and OTD students.

KEYWORDS:

• Stress
• anxiety
• depression
• student
• pandemic

Acknowledgment

We thank Chelsea Lubin, administrative assistant, for sending out the survey and reminder to the students; Ms. Elaine Pascale from the Writing Center for her help in assisting with the English editing, and all the students who participated in the survey.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability

Deidentified data will be available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request until February 2024.