The Psychological Impacts of COVID-19 3rd Wave among Undergraduate Students at Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia

Abstract

Malaysia once again reported a sudden increased number of cases which is then called the 3rd wave of COVID-19 infection, which began in September 2020 until the present. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused worldwide disruptions not only to the healthcare system but also to medical education which is implications on students' psychological well-being. Thus, the aim of this study is to determine the psychological impact of COVID-19 3rd wave among the undergraduate students in UMS. An online self-administrated questionnaire study was conducted among students of UMS. This questionnaire consisted of three sections, for collecting information on sociodemographic data and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) as well as the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IESR). Data were statistically analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The DASS-21 found 47.2% of students are suggestive of having depression, 7.2% of students are suggestive of experiencing anxiety, 62.3% of students are suggestive of having stress while the IESR found 43.7% of participants are suggestive of PTSD diagnosis. Psychological distress is prevalent among students in UMS during the COVID-19 3rd wave; screening for adverse mental and emotional outcomes and developing timely tailored preventative measures with effective feedback are vital to protect their psychological well-being, both in the immediate and long term.