Table 3.
Student agreement or disagreement with statements about their medical school’s communication and response during the SARS CoV-2 pandemic period by risk of developing depressive disorder (N = 212)
| Total n (%) | Average risk* n (%) | At risk* n (%) | p-valuea | aOR (95% CI)b | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transitioned to online learning quickly | 0.42 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 16 (7.6) | 9 (56.2) | 7 (43.8) | 0.22 (0.40 - 1.23) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 21 (9.9) | 8 (38.1) | 13 (61.9) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 175 (82.5) | 92 (52.6) | 83 (47.4) | 0.41 (0.12 - 1.45) | |
| Had a good infrastructure related to communication and course preparation in place. | 0.002 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 46 (21.7) | 13 (28.3) | 33 (71.7) | 2.94 (1.00 - 8.67) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 43 (20.3) | 19 (44.2) | 24 (55.8) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 123 (58.0) | 77 (62.6) | 46 (37.4) | 0.56 (0.24 - 1.31) | |
| Communicating plans for preceptorships or clinical experience was well done. | 0.002 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 65 (30.7) | 23 (35.4) | 42 (64.6) | 2.87 (1.18 - 7.02) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 59 (27.8) | 30 (50.8) | 29 (49.2) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 88 (41.5) | 56 (63.6) | 32 (36.4) | 0.77 (0.35 - 1.71) | |
| Communicating plans for research practicums or other research experiences was well done. | 0.007 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 61 (28.8) | 21 (34.4) | 40 (65.6) | 2.59 (1.06 - 6.36) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 91 (42.9) | 53 (58.2) | 38 (41.8) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 60 (28.3) | 35 (58.3) | 25 (41.7) | 0.97 (0.45 - 2.12) | |
| It took longer for grades to be posted compared to when classes were conducted in person. | 0.01 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 103 (48.6) | 62 (60.2) | 41 (39.8) | 0.44 (0.20 - 1.00) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 58 (27.4) | 29 (50.0) | 29 (50.0) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 51 (24.0) | 18 (35.3) | 33 (64.7) | 1.18 (0.47 - 2.98) | |
| Plans for the remainder of the semester were well understood. | 0.02 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 81 (38.2) | 32 (39.5) | 49 (60.5) | 2.39 (1.00 - 5.71) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 47 (22.2) | 29 (61.7) | 18 (38.3) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 84 (39.6) | 48 (57.1) | 36 (42.9) | 1.12 (0.47 - 2.67) | |
| Communication between [medical school] and me could have been done differently to be more effective | 0.1 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 55 (25.9) | 35 (63.6) | 20 (36.4) | 0.65 (0.25 - 1.67) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 50 (23.6) | 25 (50.0) | 25 (50.0) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 107 (50.5) | 49 (45.6) | 58 (27.4) | 1.32 (0.58 - 3.02) | |
| The objectives related to the content of tests was made clear to me. | 0.01 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 33 (15.6) | 9 (27.3) | 24 (72.7) | 1.43 (0.47 - 4.33) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 52 (24.5) | 28 (53.9) | 24 (46.2) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 127 (59.9) | 72 (56.7) | 55 (43.3) | 0.62 (0.28 - 1.37) | |
| Faculty were readily available for questions. | 0.004 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 20 (9.4) | 8 (40.0) | 12 (60.0) | 0.23 (0.05 - 1.08) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 28 (13.2) | 7 (25.0) | 21 (75.0) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 164 (77.4) | 94 (57.3) | 70 (42.7) | 0.16 (0.05 - 0.49) | |
| Administration were readily available for questions. | 0.006 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 34 (16.0) | 12 (35.3) | 22 (64.7) | 0.63 (0.20 - 2.00) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 42 (19.8) | 16 (38.1) | 26 (61.9) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 136 (64.2) | 81 (59.6) | 55 (40.4) | 0.36 (0.15 - 0.85) | |
| Curriculum was just as rigorous as it was when classes were conducted in person. | 0.25 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 65 (30.7) | 30 (46.2) | 35 (53.8) | 1.68 (0.68 - 4.16) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 47 (22.2) | 29 (61.7) | 18 (38.3) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 100 (47.2) | 50 (50.0) | 50 (50.0) | 0.85 (0.34 - 2.11) | |
| I am as well-prepared for the next courses as I would have been before online-only courses were implemented. | 0.008 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 73 (34.4) | 28 (38.4) | 45 (61.6) | 1.14 (0.51 - 2.57) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 62 (29.2) | 32 (51.6) | 30 (48.4) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 77 (36.3) | 49 (63.6) | 28 (36.4) | 0.56 (0.24 - 1.25) | |
| My professors were well-prepared for online teaching. | 0.007 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 86 (40.6) | 33 (38.4) | 53 (61.6) | 2.26 (1.01 - 5.06) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 65 (30.7) | 40 (61.5) | 25 (38.4) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 61 (28.8) | 36 (59.0) | 25 (42.0) | 1.02 (0.44 - 2.38) | |
| I was well-prepared for the changes in how the curriculum was presented. | <0.001 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 60 (28.3) | 19 (31.7) | 41 (68.3) | 2.16 (0.88 - 5.32) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 58 (27.4) | 30 (51.7) | 28 (48.3) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 94 (44.3) | 60 (63.8) | 34 (36.2) | 0.86 (0.34 - 1.93) | |
| I got a lot of information from other students before official announcements were made. | 0.13 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 80 (37.7) | 48 (60.0) | 32 (40.0) | 0.50 (0.20 - 1.27) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 40 (18.9) | 20 (50.0) | 20 (50.0) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 92 (43.4) | 41 (44.6) | 51 (55.4) | 0.70 (0.28 - 1.74) | |
| Communication about changes was done in a timely manner. | 0.01 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 73 (34.4) | 29 (39.7) | 44 (60.3 | 1.43 (0.60 - 3.39) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 53 (25.0) | 26 (49.1) | 27 (50.9) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 86 (40.6) | 54 (62.8) | 32 (37.2) | 0.61 (0.26- 1.42) | |
| I needed to put extra effort into finding out information critical to my success as a student. | 0.003 | ||||
| Strongly disagree/ disagree | 66 (31.1) | 45 (68.2) | 21 (31.8) | 0.38 (0.14 - 1.06) | |
| Neither agree or disagree | 40 (18.9) | 20 (50.0) | 20 (50.0) | Reference | |
| Agree/ strongly agree | 106 (50.0) | 44 (41.5) | 62 (58.5) | 1.13 (0.45 - 2.85) |
aOR= adjusted odds ratios; 95% CI = 95% Confidence Interval
*Center for Epidemiological Studies of Depression, short-form (CESD-10), contained 10 questions with responses ranging from 0 to 3. The “average risk” score was < 10 and the “at risk” score was ≥ 10. This cutoff of depressive symptomology for this measure is established in the literature.
aChi-Square test p-value for unadjusted bivariate analyses.
baOR adjusted for year in medical school, change in coping, and change in depressive symptoms.
Bold odds ratios indicate significance at P < 0.05.