PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC SCHOOL CLOSURE AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS IN A TERTIARY INSTITUTION IN SOKOTO STATE, NIGERIA

Background: Lockdown was one of the preventive measures aimed at reducing thecommunity transmission of COVID-19. This however was not without mental and emotional effects on University students most especially on the Medical students inUsmanu Danfodiyo University (UDU), Sokoto, Nigeria. The aim of this study was to access the sources of anxiety, stress and depression during COVID-19 pandemic school closure among medical students in UDU, Sokoto, Nigeria

Methods: A descriptive study wascarried out among medical students of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria selected by multi-stage sampling technique. A set of pretested, semi-structured self- administered questionnaires were used to collectdataon the research variables. Data wereanalyzed usingIBMSPSSversion26statisticalpackage

Results:The mean age of the respondents was 24.7+ 3.5 SD and majority 101 (56.8%) were within the age range of 18-23 years. Greater proportion (67.6%) of the respondents were males, with about one-fifth 36(19.6%) of the respondents reported living alone during the school closure while majority 155(86.6%) had worries for not attending lectures during Covid-19 school closure. A majority, 159(88.8%)) of them were worried about the missed academic session and 153(85.5%) reported that lost academic session has affected their future plans.

Conclusion: About one-fifth of the respondents lived alone and most of them were worried about the missed academic sessions while a greater proportion of them reported that loss of academic session has affected their future plans. Digital tools learning should be used to ensure online teaching during school closure to avoid loss of academic session for the students and programmes focusing on stress, anxiety as well depression prevention and management should also be considered and introduced in the institutions of higher learning.