%0 Journal Article
%@ 1438-8871
%I JMIR Publications
%V 23
%N 2
%P e25232
%T Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Psychological Distress of Medical Students in Japan: Cross-sectional Survey Study
%A Nishimura,Yoshito
%A Ochi,Kanako
%A Tokumasu,Kazuki
%A Obika,Mikako
%A Hagiya,Hideharu
%A Kataoka,Hitomi
%A Otsuka,Fumio
%+ Department of General Medicine, Okayama University Hospital, 2-5-1 Shikata-Cho, Kita-Ku, Okayama, Japan, 81 86 235 7342, nishimura-yoshito@okayama-u.ac.jp
%K COVID-19
%K online education
%K depression
%K pandemic
%K anxiety
%K medical student
%D 2021
%7 18.2.2021
%9 Original Paper
%J J Med Internet Res
%G English
%X Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected medical education. However, little data are available about medical students’ distress during the pandemic. Objective: This study aimed to provide details on how medical students have been affected by the pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 717 medical students participated in the web-based survey. The survey included questions about how the participants’ mental status had changed from before to after the Japanese nationwide state of emergency (SOE). Results: Out of 717 medical students, 473 (66.0%) participated in the study. In total, 29.8% (141/473) of the students reported concerns about the shift toward online education, mostly because they thought online education would be ineffective compared with in-person learning. The participants’ subjective mental health status significantly worsened after the SOE was lifted (P<.001). Those who had concerns about a shift toward online education had higher odds of having generalized anxiety and being depressed (odds ratio [OR] 1.97, 95% CI 1.19-3.28) as did those who said they would request food aid (OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.16-3.44) and mental health care resources (OR 3.56, 95% CI 2.07-6.15). Conclusions: Given our findings, the sudden shift to online education might have overwhelmed medical students. Thus, we recommend that educators inform learners that online learning is not inferior to in-person learning, which could attenuate potential depression and anxiety. 
%M 33556033
%R 10.2196/25232
%U http://www.jmir.org/2021/2/e25232/
%U https://doi.org/10.2196/25232
%U http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33556033