Evaluating attitude, understanding, and perception towards lockdown, boredom, and subjective happiness in nursing students related to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: In the light of the recent covid-19 lockdowns in India, it is quintessential to evaluate attitudes and problems faced by the nursing students. This further, helps in improving the current and future response of the paramedics to dire outbreaks. Aim: To evaluate the attitude, understanding, and perception towards lockdown imposed due to COVID-19 pandemic. Also, to measure the levels of boredom and subjective happiness in nursing students during this period. Settings and design: A cross-sectional study was conducted and one eighty-seven nursing students, under lockdown, were evaluated. Materials: Semi-structured proforma for socio-demographic details and attitudes towards COVID 19 lockdown, Boredom Proneness Scale- Short Form (BPS-SR) and The Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) were applied. Statistical analysis: Descriptive analysis for socio demographic details and Pearson’s correlations for categorical variables and Spearman’s correlations for ordinal variables were used. Results: The mean age of the sample (N=187) was 19.85 years (Standard Deviation=1.391)). Most found lockdown justified (87.15%) and beneficial (94.64%) to prevent infection spread and protect the public, mainly for moral obligations towards the society (63.1%). The mean BPS-SR score was 15.62 (SD=3.32) and that of SHS score was 3.84 (SD=.979). Only 8% showed higher boredom levels and 69.5% showed higher levels of subjective happiness. Most (47.05%) felt that a combination of familial, financial, and social loss would occur. Conclusion: Positive attitude, adequate understanding, and appropriate perspective regarding COVID 19 lockdown, seems to bring about relatively higher levels of subjective happiness and lower levels of boredom among nursing students are found in this study.