Abstract

Evaluating General Mental Health of Medical Interns Working at Care Units of COVID-19 Patients in Comparison with the Control

Introduction: Starting a medical internship course is associated with major changes in social relationships and roles of students that can predispose them to mental disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the general health of medical interns during COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, 110 medical interns (70 females and 40 males) were selected using convenience sampling method. Data collection tools were demographic survey and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28).

Results: 63.3% of the participants were female, the mean age of the students was 25.72 ± 1.843 years, and single students had the highest frequency with 79.1%. There was a significant relationship between general health of medical interns and their attendance in COVID-19 ward (P<0.05), so that the mean score of the test for students participated in COVID-19 ward (36.55 ± 15.425) was significantly higher than those did not attend (24.16 ± 4.969). Moreover, all subscales measured in this test (physical status, anxiety, academic performance, and depression) were higher in this group than in those who were not responsible for caring for COVID-19 patients. As a result, most medical interns in charge of caring for COVID-19 patients (84.2%) showed low levels of general mental health and the remaining (15.8%) showed moderate levels.

Discussion and Conclusion: Caring for patients with acute pandemic diseases can lead to psychiatric and general injuries in healthcare providers, including medical interns. To prevent the long-term consequences of these injuries and to maintain work force, it is necessary to take measures to reduce the adverse effects of such disorders.

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