Anxiety Prevalence among Albanian Medical Students during Quarantine Period of COVID-19

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of anxiety among healthcare students at the Medical University of Tirana during the 2020 quarantine period (March-May 2020). It also sought to explore the relationship between anxiety levels and factors such as chronic diseases, information obtained about Covid-19 through doctor consultations, and information acquired from media sources.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted via an online survey completed by 412 students studying a healthcare-oriented degree at the Medical University of Tirana. Participants were recruited through e-mail. The validated Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI; Beck et al., 1988) was used to assess student’s anxiety levels. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics 23.0.

Results: The sample consisted of 412 medical students, with the majority being female 85.9% (n=354) and 14.1% (n=58) male. The BAI assessment revealed that 31.31% (n=129) of students experienced minimal anxiety level, 55.57% (n=229) had a moderate anxiety level, and 13.1% (n=54) had a severe anxiety level. Chronic diseases (r = .475, p < .05), information on COVID-19 from media (r = .385, p < .05), were positively associated with higher anxiety scores. Primary care consultation (r = -.650, p<.01) was associated with lower anxiety scores. Chronic illnesses and other mental health disorders were significant predictors of anxiety, with chronic illnesses explaining 9.5% of the variance (R²= .095) and other psychological/emotional disorders explaining 9.8 % of variance (R²= .098) (F (3,216) = 22.956, p < .001).

Conclusions: Anxiety levels among university healthcare students at the Medical University of Tirana during the COVID-19 quarantine on March-May 2020 were found to be high. Chronic diseases and other mental disorders have played an important role in increasing anxiety symptoms during quarantine. Implementing psychological interventions for healthcare students during pandemics is strongly recommended to optimize their mental health.

Keywords: anxiety, healthcare students, quarantine, COVID-19

DOI: 10.7176/ALST/101-05

Publication date: April 30^th 2025