Original scientific paper
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF "DOUBLE CRISIS" (COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND EARTHQUAKES) ON CROATIAN MEDICAL STUDENTS
Ivan Romic
orcid.org/0000-0003-4545-2118
; Department of Surgery, University Hospital Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Hrvoje Silovski
; Department of Surgery, University Hospital Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Marko Mance
; Department of Surgery, University Hospital Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Goran Pavlek
; Department of Surgery, University Hospital Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Igor Petrovic
; Department of Surgery, University Hospital Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Josip Figl
; Department of Surgery, University Hospital Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Dario Grbavac
; Department of Surgery, University Hospital Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Trpimir Moric
; Department of Surgery, University Hospital Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Renata Romic
; Health centre Zagreb-Centar, Zagreb, Croatia
Branko Bakula
; Department of Surgery, University Hospital Sveti Duh, Zagreb, Croatia
Ante Vulic
; Department of Hematology, University Hospital Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Introduction: In 2020. the COVID-19 pandemic presented an additional source of stress and anxiety not just to the general
population but also to medical students who are, even under normal circumstances, constantly under pressure due to demanding
student duties. In addition, they experienced a series of devastating earthquakes in and around the Zagreb region which altogether
could have had compromised their psychological well-being. The aim of this review was to evaluate the psychological effects of these
two natural disasters on the mental health of Croatian medical students.
Results: According to standardized questionnaires for depression and anxiety evaluation, 75.3% of students were anxious and
65.2% were depressive during to outcomes was observed regarding genders,
but it was found that first year students had a significantly higher anxiety score than older ones.
Conclusion: In such stressful situations, we should emphasize the importance of mental health not just of healthcare workers, but
also of medical students in order to prevent serious psychological consequences and to alleviate the negative
motivation and their educational process.
Keywords
depression students; COVID-19; earthquake
Hrčak ID:
267230
URI
Publication date:
4.10.2021.
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