Mental State of Students During the Pandemic and Affecting Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study

Evaluation of the psychological symptoms in healthcare students and the development of new strategies to improve their mental health are of great importance. The study was aimed at determining the mental state of students, prospective healthcare workers, during the pandemic, and the influencing factors. The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at a Manisa Celal Bayar University Faculty of Health in Turkey. The sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, Fear of COVID-19 Scale, and Brief Symptom Inventory were used to collect data. The study was conducted with 828 students. In study, variables such as sleep, negative news about COVID-19, sex, income status, presence of social support, department students attend, choosing the profession willingly, and having a physical/mental illness were determined to have an effect on the mental state. The results of this study suggest that there is a relationship between the fear of COVID-19 and mental health state of the students.