Aim: to assess perception of the state of emergency and associated restrictive conditions due to COVID-19 among medical students and university staff in a Kazakhstani setting. Methods. A cross-sectional study. Altogether, 228 students and staff of the Pavlodar branch of the Semey Medical University participated in an online survey. The visual analog scales were used to study difficulties related to maintaining self-isolation/social distancing, the intensity of information flow, and the extent of psychological stress. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to assess affective symptoms. Categorical variables were analyzed using chi-squared-and Fisher exact tests. Mann-Whitney tests were used for numeric data. Spearman’s correlation were calculated for associations between self-isolation/social distancing and the perception thereof. Results. In total, 30.3 % of respondents experienced substantial difficulties in maintaining self-isolation/social distancing. Their proportion was higher among those frequently watching, reading or listening to news about COVID-19 (41.7 % vs. 20.0 %, р < 0.001), and getting the information from online bloggers (42.9 % vs. 26.8 %, р = 0.03). The psychological stress was reported by 92.7 % of the respondents. Those who experienced the difficulties with self-isolation/social distancing were more likely to feel excessive stress due to mobility restrictions (30.4 % vs. 6.9 %, p = 0.001), limited interpersonal communication (37.7 % vs. 17.0 %, p < 0.001), distance education (26.1 % vs. 11.3 %, p = 0.006), the suspension/reduction of clinical practice (33.3 % vs. 20.1 %, p = 0.044) than the others. That group with the difficulties had a higher proportion of anxiety (26.1 % vs. 11.9 %, p = 0.008) and depression symptoms (40.6 % vs. 22.0 %, p = 0.004). Positive correlations were observed between the severity of the perceived difficulties and the frequency of watching, reading or listening to COVID-19 news (r = 0.26 p < 0.001). The difficulties correlated with symptoms of anxiety (r = 0.36, p < 0.001) and depression (r = 0.25, p < 0.001), stress due to mobility restrictions (r = 0.50, p < 0.001), limited interpersonal communication (r = 0.39, p < 0.001), and distance education (r = 0.31, p < 0.001). Conclusions. The absolute majority of the respondents experienced psychological stress, severity of which varied in particular conditions of the state of emergency. The difficulties with self-isolation/social distancing were significantly associated with anxiety and depression symptoms.

中文翻译：

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哈萨克斯坦大学的医学生和工作人员对 COVID-19 紧急状态的看法

目的：评估哈萨克斯坦医学生和大学教职工对 COVID-19 引起的紧急状态和相关限制条件的看法。方法。一项横断面研究。共有 228 名塞米医科大学巴甫洛达尔分校的学生和工作人员参加了在线调查。视觉模拟量表用于研究与保持自我隔离/社交距离、信息流强度和心理压力程度相关的困难。医院焦虑和抑郁量表用于评估情感症状。使用卡方检验和 Fisher 精确检验分析分类变量。Mann-Whitney 检验用于数值数据。针对自我隔离/社交距离与其感知之间的关联，计算了斯皮尔曼相关性。结果。总共有 30.3% 的受访者在保持自我隔离/社交距离方面遇到了重大困难。在经常观看、阅读或收听有关 COVID-19 的新闻（41.7 % 对 20.0 %，р < 0.001）和从在线博客获取信息（42.9 % 对 26.8 %，р = 0.03）的人中，他们的比例更高. 92.7%的受访者报告了心理压力。由于行动受限（30.4 % 对 6.9 %，p = 0.001）、人际交流受限（37.7 % 对 17.0 %，p < 0.001），那些经历过自我隔离/社交疏远困难的人更有可能感到压力过大）、远程教育（26.1 % 对 11.3 %，p = 0.006）、临床实践的暂停/减少（33.3 % 对 20.1 %，p = 0.044）。有困难的那组有更高比例的焦虑（26.1 % 对 11.9 %，p = 0.008）和抑郁症状（40.6 % 对 22.0 %，p = 0.004）。在感知困难的严重程度与观看、阅读或收听 COVID-19 新闻的频率之间观察到正相关（r = 0.26 p < 0.001）。困难与焦虑症状 (r = 0.36, p < 0.001) 和抑郁 (r = 0.25, p < 0.001)、行动受限引起的压力 (r = 0.50, p < 0.001)、人际交流受限 (r = 0.39) 相关, p < 0.001) 和远程教育 (r = 0.31, p < 0.001)。结论。绝大多数受访者经历了心理压力，其严重程度因紧急状态的特定条件而异。