Impacto do isolamento social pela pandemia de Covid-19 na saúde mental dos estudantes de medicina e percepção quanto ao ensino remoto em uma escola médica brasileira

Abstract

Introduction: The SARS-Cov2 coronavirus pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, generating a global alert that measures must be taken, activating and intensifying emergency strategies. While the initial concerns were most in the viral sphere, mental health became a highlight, and the youth group seems to have been one of the most affected. At the forefront of combating this new disease are health professionals who, in addition to physical illness, have been emotionally impacted. The medical class, since its university training period, is one of the hardest affected in terms of mental health and medical students are a critical point in this process. Objectives: to evaluate the impact of social isolation on the anxiety and quality of life of medical students; to identify students' perception of remote education; to propose actions that can promote mental health when returning to face-to-face classes. Methods: Longitudinal study in students enrolled in the 4th period of the medical course, with an initial sample of 117 students and a final sample of 91, carried out between February and July/2020 at students (n=91) at UNIFENAS, a private medical school in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The study was initiated in person and ended remotely, with analysis of sociodemographic data (QUALIMED), anxiety symptoms (BAI), perception of quality of life (WHOQOL-abbreviated) and a questionnaire designed to understand how students faced social isolation. Results: We found 37,4% of students with moderate and severe anxiety level (GAG) and the rest with mild anxiety level (GAL). From the social isolation, for the GAG, an improvement in anxiety symptoms and quality of life was observed in in practically all domains. In GAL, there was a worsening of anxiety symptoms when the quarantine was decreed and an improvement in the psychological and environmental domains for quality of life, as social isolation period was extended. The feeling of not learning (84.6%), followed by lack of motivation (71.4%) and procrastination in studies (69.2%), were the three reasons that most affected them during remote education period. Besides that, for 91.2% of them, the lack of clear messages from governments officials about the pandemic contributed to worsen the level of perceived stress. Seven intervention proposals were presented by the author, considering both the face-to-face course or the online one. Conclusion: Medical students in social isolation evolved with improvement in anxiety symptoms and in the perception of quality of life. Remote education was perceived as a barrier to learning.