Perceived Stress Among Medical and Health Science Undergraduate Students of RIMS, Manipur During the COVID -19 Pandemic: A Descriptive Study

Background: COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of life around the world. Education has moved from offline to online classes. Undoubtedly, the period has been stressful for every student irrespective of different stream of studies. It has been observed that each year medical institute has its own unique and significant stresses preventing students from fully adapting to the challenges. Researches have reported that students have been highly vulnerable to mental health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. So, the study was taken up to assess Perceived stress among the medical and health science undergraduate students during the pandemic. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted with the aim to evaluate the levels of perceived stress of medical and health science undergraduate students, to assess the relationship between perceived stress and stream of the study and socio demographic correlates with perceive stress among undergraduate students of RIMS, Manipur on a sample of 369 participants consisting of 276 female students and 93 male students.  Self-prepared socio demographic data sheet and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) were utilized. Results: The study showed that of the 369 participants 12% were having high perceived stress, 74% were in moderate perceived stress and 14% were having low range of perceived stress. Further, the study revealed B.Sc Nursing students were having higher perceived stress than MBBS students. Higher perceived stress was observed among female participants than male participants. Conclusion: The findings of the study proved the presence of significantly higher level of perceived stress among the participants suggesting that students’ mental health during the pandemic is at high risk.