Psychosocial Impact of COVID-19 Tests and Positive Results on Clinical Students Screened during the Second wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Rivers State, Nigeria

Background: Destabilization of all educational activities, mixed impact on academic research and professional development, severe effect on the educational assessment system, and reduced employment opportunities, were some of the impacts recorded in the educational sector following the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychosocial impact of COVD-19 and COVID-19 test and results on returning clinical students in a Private Medical University in Port Harcourt in the first quarter of year 2021.

Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among returning clinical students in a private medical university. Semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from clinical students. Data was analysed using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0.

Results: A total of seventy-six (76) respondents who were medical students were involved in the study, with a 98.0% response rate. The impact of the pandemic was felt at home and in school. Study found that 49 students (64.5%) were dissatisfied with school work and twenty-two respondents (28.9%) were observed to be highly stressed while 9 students (11.8%) were observed to have no stress. The female respondents were more affected by the COVID-19 pandemic than their male colleagues.

Conclusion: Assessment of the impact of COVID-19 disease and testing revealed that undergraduate clinical students were affected psychosocially in the pandemic. Respondents were observed to be highly stressed, and a few indicated incapacitating psychological distress. Therefore, psychosocial support of students should be built into response measures for future screening services.