Abstract:
Introduction: COVID-19 has been reported to have psychological effects on the general population. It is known to impact the mental health of university students since it disrupted their academic journey. Students are considered a vulnerable population that experiences moderate to severe levels of depression, anxiety, stress and suicidal ideation among other psychological health issues due to their transition into adulthood. Closure of schools was implemented in Ghana to curb the spread of the virus. Studies from other countries have documented how this action affected students mentally. However, many of the documents in Ghana emphasized the impact of the pandemic on health care workers with little done on students.
Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among final year university students at the Central University due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative study design was adopted for the study. A systematic sampling technique was used to select the study participants (351) and data was collected with a structured questionnaire (DASS-21) which was then entered into Microsoft Excel and exported to STATA version 17 for analysis. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were undertaken to derive the results. Logistic regression was assessed at a 0.05 level of statistical significance with a 95% Confidence Interval.
Results: The prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was 66.7%, 57.8% and 20.5% respectively. More females reported having experienced these conditions compared to males. There was no significance between sex, ethnicity, religion and depression, anxiety and stress. The course of study was found to be significant at the alpha level of 0.05. Those who study Arts and Social Science were 12.6 times more likely to experience depression compared to those who study Business. Likewise, those who study health sciences and engineering and technology were 2.5 and 4.9 times more likely to experience depression compared to Business students.
Conclusion and Recommendation: The study revealed a high prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress among students. Therefore, policy makers and mental health professionals should develop strategies to provide psychological support to students, especially during outbreaks. Further studies should be conducted to identify the factors that impact the psychological health of university students post-pandemic.
