Analysis of mental health status before and after psychological intervention in response to public health emergencies by medical students: a prospective single-arm clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Many human mobility restrictions have been adopted during the novel 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Here we explored the effects of psychological interventions on the mental health status of medical students under the regular prevention and control of the pandemic. METHODS: By voluntarily participating in interest groups, 121 third-year medical undergraduate students in a university in Jiangsu Province underwent psychological interventions for 1 year. Their mental status was assessed by using Zung’s Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), and Somatic Self-rating Scale (SSS) before and after the interventions. Psychological coping styles were compared by using the trait coping style questionnaire (TCSQ). Each assessment scale is evaluated every 3 months, with the first survey results as the baseline data and compared with the last results. The resulting data was passed by SPSS 23 0 for normal testing and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). RESULTS: During the regular response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and somatization symptoms was 25.62% vs. 7.44%, 28.93% vs. 18.18%, and 21.49% vs. 9.92%, respectively, before and after psychological interventions (all P<0.05). The positive (31.73±4.26 vs. 38.26±3.72) and negative (27.69±3.19 vs. 20.73±2.8) coping styles significantly differed before and after intervention (both P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Varying degrees of anxiety, depression, and somatization symptoms can occur in medical students during the regular response to COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the impact of public health emergencies on college students. Interest group–based psychological intervention, along with individual mental health counseling, can positively promote the mental health of college students and effectively improve their anxiety.