TY  - JOUR
AU  - Nishimura, Yoshito
AU  - Ochi, Kanako
AU  - Tokumasu, Kazuki
AU  - Obika, Mikako
AU  - Hagiya, Hideharu
AU  - Kataoka, Hitomi
AU  - Otsuka, Fumio
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/2/18
TI  - Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Psychological Distress of Medical Students in Japan: Cross-sectional Survey Study
JO  - J Med Internet Res
SP  - e25232
VL  - 23
IS  - 2
KW  - COVID-19
KW  - online education
KW  - depression
KW  - pandemic
KW  - anxiety
KW  - medical student
AB  - 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. 
SN  - 1438-8871
UR  - http://www.jmir.org/2021/2/e25232/
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/25232
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33556033
DO  - 10.2196/25232
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/25232
ER  -