Abstract:
Introduction: COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease caused by the SARS-Co V-2 virus.
COVID-19 was originally discovered in Wuhan (China) in mid-December of 2019. It
causes widespread anxiety, depression, fear and distress. Purpose: To identify the
prevalence of depression and anxiety among the students of Dhaka University and
Jahangirnagar University during COVID-19 Pandemic. Objective: To identify the percent
of students who are suffering from depression and anxiety, explore the socio-demographic
characteristics of the students, identify vulnerable gender affected from depression and
depression, assess the severity of depression and anxiety and evaluate the possible causes
that might be responsible for developing depression. Methodology: It was a cross sectional
study. Total 300 participants were attended willingly and conveniently for this study from
University of Dhaka and Jahangirnagar University. Data was collected Center for
Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale
(GAD-7) with Socio-demographic questions. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS
version 23) was used for data analysis. Results: The findings revealed that students have
significant rates of anxiety and depression symptoms, as well as moderate to poor mental
health scores based on the cut scores for their respective measures. The findings of the
cross-sectional survey indicate that more than two-thirds of the students were experiencing
mild to severe depression (77.67%) and mild to severe anxiety (80%). Researcher also
found significant association between depression and anxiety with age, gender, education
status, monthly family income, COVID – 19 infection of the participants and family
members. Conclusion: The COVID-19's confinement, self-isolation, and social alienation
have exacerbated psychological issues among Bangladeshis. The COVID-19 pandemic has
caused mental stress among college and university students because of academic delays,
virus dread, financial instability, and career insecurity. This study helps to collect
information from the students about depression and anxiety which further may help to
establish an effective treatment protocol for them and improve student’s mental health.
Key words: Depression, anxiety, COVID – 19.
Description:
This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy, Bangladesh Health Professions Institute, Faculty of Medicine, the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.