Effects of COVID-19 on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Nursing Students

Gabryelle Callahan

Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about many new topics for researchers, from financial struggles to familial problems, and new mental health issues. How did the pandemic affect nursing students at a four-year university? This research started in January of 2021, and at that time there was not much out related to the topic which made it difficult to find a lot of research. Research that was found was mainly based in locations outside of the United States as the other countries were presented with COVID-19 before the US was. Data was collected via a google survey and sent out to students by the University's nursing department. Freshman students were excluded from this study because they were not in nursing classes at the time of the research collection. Much of the data found showed that nursing students, regardless of class, were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost all of the students surveyed scored on the GAD-7, PHQ-9, and Perceived stress scale, meaning their mental health is being affected. The findings indicate that support from the University during this time is truly essential, and more outreach is needed for nursing students.