engleski

Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Undergraduate Medical Students: Lessons for the Future.

Background: The implementation of public health measures is a key aspect of the fight against the pandemic. However, the current literature suggests that the effectiveness of measures is influenced by various factors, and these factors are most pronounced among young people. Finding the causes and reasons for non-compliance is essential for increasing the effectiveness of measures and reducing their negative effects. Subjects and methods: We evaluated the degree of non-comopliance with epidemiological measures and the reasons for such behaviour among students attending medical colleges at four universities in Croatia (Zagreb, Split, Osijek, Rijeka) in view of altered social, academic, mental, and economic conditions during the pandemic by using an anonymous online questionnaire with 36 Likert scale based questions which was distributed to students in Croatia in March of 2021. Results: A total of 605 students filled out the questionnaire. Female students reported a higher negative impact of social distancing (3.24±1.08 vs 2.95±1.11 ; p=0.006) and were more concerned about getting infected with SARS-CoV-2 (2.81±1.06 vs. 2.46±0.94 ; p=0.0005) and about the health of their family and friends during the pandemic (3.83±1.09 vs. 3.50±1.04 ; p=0.0005). Simultaneously, they were more compliant with the mitigation measures (4.06±0.71 vs. 3.85±0.83 ; p=0.0413) and were more aware that irresponsible behaviour can place other people at risk. In contrast, male students considered COVID-19 more often as a threat affecting only the elderly (3.11±1.1 vs. 2.78±1.23 ; p=0.0036). While all students reported high responsibility levels, they did describe violating the measures at times they wanted to socialise. Conculsions: Gender, working status, care for their health, and the health of loved ones were modifying factors for young people behaviour. Assessing social, economic, and health factors must be applied when tailoring public health policies during crisis management.

COVID-19 ; medicine ; students ; health policies ; pandemic

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