Anxiety and depression among nursing students affected by the 2023 Alhaouz earthquake in Morocco: A comprehensive evaluation

Background/objectives: This groundbreaking study marks the initial exploration into the psychological aftermath following the 2023 Alhaouz earthquake. The objective is to scrutinize anxiety and depression among nursing and health technology students in the wake of this seismic event. Methods: To achieve this, demographic data and anxiety/depression scale measures were systematically gathered through a standardized questionnaire. Results: revealed that 29.73 % of students directly felt the impact of the earthquake. Depression was reported by 42.01 % of students, with 84.80 % being female, 59.65 % under 20 years old, and 88.89 % pursuing undergraduate studies. It's worth noting that Mental Health Nurse (MHN) students emerged as the least affected group (RR = 0.3455, p < 0.05). Depression was significantly more prevalent among students with a history of depression (RR = 1.5227, p < 0.05). Within the student population, the earthquake's impact was most pronounced among those who evacuated due to uninhabitable or potentially unsafe homes (63.14 %), experienced property loss (27.17 %), and faced the loss of family members (9.58 %). Anxiety affected 37.59 % of students. Notably, anxiety was statistically associated with students directly affected by the disaster (RR = 1.4836, p = 0.0036), as well as those forcibly evacuated from their homes (RR = 1.7663, p = 0.0001). Furthermore, 39.42 % of individuals expressed a sense of impending fear, while 30.3 % exhibited worry, often accompanied by quiet and inactive behavior (57.8 %), feelings of fear, and a tense stomach (21.7 %). Conclusion: this research underscores the critical importance of monitoring the mental well-being of earthquake survivors.