Socio-educational Impact and Psychological Distress of Medical Students amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Japanese Cross-Sectional Survey

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected medical education. However, few data are available about medical students’ distress during the pandemic. This study aimed to provide details on how medical students had been affected by the pandemic. In this cross-sectional study, 717 medical students participated in the web-based survey. The questions included how their mental status had changed before and after the Japanese nationwide state of emergency (SOE). 65.9% (473/717) participated in the study. 29.8% (141/473) reported concerns about the shift toward online education, mostly because they thought online education could have been ineffective compared with in-person learning. 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 (OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.19 – 3.28), as did those who requested food aid and mental health care resources (OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.16 – 3.44; OR 3.56, 95% CI 2.07 – 6.15, respectively). Given our findings, the sudden shift to online education might have overwhelmed medical students. Thus, we recommend educators to inform learners that online learning is non-inferior to in-person learning, which could attenuate potential depression and anxiety.