The effect of COVID-19 home quarantine on the psychological state of pharmacy students: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Psychological morbidity has been documented in medical and pharmaceutical undergraduate students in different countries around the world. In this study, we examined the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) home quarantine on the depressive psychological aspects of last-grade pharmacy students. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted by the Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Deraya University, Egypt. Two hundred and sixty-eight last-grade pharmacy students were included in this study, and they completed a self-administered, pre-designed, anonymous questionnaire. The main outcome measures were the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HRS) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), which were measured to screen for the symptoms of psychological depression and determine the degree of depression severity between the beginning and the end of the COVID-19 home quarantine period. Data entry and analysis were done using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software version 26. Descriptive statistics were employed for analyses of the data, and categorical variables were described by frequencies and percentages. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were performed to examine relations between demographic data and psychological scales. The study protocol was approved by the Faculty of Pharmacy, Minia University Ethical Committee. RESULTS: A total of 268 students participated in this study (102 males and 166 females). The mean ± SD score of baseline HRS and HRS at the end of the study was 6.3 ± 4.45, 7.95 ± 5.36, respectively, with the presence of a statistically significant difference between the two scores (p < 0.001). The mean ± SD score of baseline PHQ-9 and PHQ-9 at the end of the study was 4.35 ± 3.45, 5.37 ± 4.14, respectively, with the presence of a statistically significant difference between the two scores (p < 0.001). The results showed that the COVID-19 home quarantine period led to a depressive psychological effect on the students in this study. CONCLUSIONS: Students’ psychological depression causes morbidity and, in some cases, mortality. Psychological depressive problems were significantly associated with the COVID-19 home quarantine period, which calls for early intervention to solve it. Student counselling services must be more accessible and affordable to overcome this problem.