Perception of stress of university students of health careers in the post-pandemic stage (Original).

Abstract

The covid-19 pandemic created a crisis in the world population, which had to face situations of compulsory confinement, and the closure of schools and universities forced the academic world to adopt virtual teaching. The clinical practices of university students in health careers were interrupted. This created uncertainty as to how they would achieve the required professional competencies. This study was elaborated with the purpose of analyzing the stress perception of young undergraduate university students of health careers in the post-pandemic stage, in order to identify and prevent damage to their mental health, and therefore to the assimilation of the contents in the teaching-learning process. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out in the Faculty of Chemical and Health Sciences of the Technical University of Machala in the months of June-August 2022. The Perceived Stress Scale was used, as well as descriptive statistics. For comparisons, the Student's t-tests and ANOVA I were used. The results show 61.3% of stressed students, mainly due to time management. Significant differences in perceived stress were observed based on age, with younger students being the most affected. Although a slight increase in stress was noted in women and medical students, no statistically significant differences were found. Interventions aimed at promoting mental health and fostering resilience in university students should be implemented.