Increased Levels of Anxiety Among Medical and Non-Medical University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United Arab Emirates

• Main Authors: Saddik B, Hussein A, Sharif-Askari FS, Kheder W, Temsah MH, Koutaich RA, Haddad ES, Al-Roub NM, Marhoon FA, Hamid Q, Halwani R
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2020
• Subjects: covid-19; anxiety; medical students; gad-7; united arab emirates; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Hani; sami
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/a087ad830d274b75a254b2c27e4ee1d7

Basema Saddik,1,2 Amal Hussein,1 Fatemeh Saheb Sharif-Askari,2 Waad Kheder,3 Mohamad-Hani Temsah,4 Rim Adnan Koutaich,5 Enad Sami Haddad,5 Nora Marwan Al-Roub,5 Fatema Adel Marhoon,5 Qutayba Hamid,2,5 Rabih Halwani2,5 1Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; 2Sharjah Institute of Medical Research, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; 3College of Dental Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; 4Prince Abdullah Ben Khaled Celiac Disease Research Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab EmiratesCorrespondence: Rabih Halwani Email [e-mail]: The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to increase anxiety levels within the community and in particular medical students who are already considered psychologically vulnerable groups. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, no study has yet estimated the effect of this pandemic on university students in the UAE or its impact on the psychological well-being of medical students.Methods and Materials: We surveyed 1485 medical (comprising medical and dental) and non-medical university students across 4 emirates within the UAE. We used an online platform to assess knowledge, sources of information, changes in hygienic behavior, perceptions of fear and worry and anxiety levels using the generalized anxiety disorder 7 (GAD-7) scale. The GAD-7 score was measured at three time points: during hospital visits for medical/dental students, before the introduction of online learning and after online learning for all students.Results: The majority of students demonstrated high levels of knowledge and utilized reliable sources of information. Non-medical students exercised higher compliance with social restrictions, while medical students practiced better hand hygiene. Almost half of students reported ...