The impact of the COVID-19 Epidemic on Mental Health among University Staff and Students: An Institution-Based Cross-Sectional Study

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption in education worldwide. There are interruptions in their daily routines and fears of becoming ill, an increase in deaths, anxiety, and future stress. This study aims to identify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on University employees and students and identify the factors/potential stresses linked to DAS risk during the COVID pandemic. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 626 participants at a Malaysian private institution via Google forms using the DASS-21 e-questionnaires in English and Bahasa Malay. Pearson correlation, Chi-square test, and Fisher’s exact test were performed. Anxiety (36.3%) was the most common symptom among respondents, followed by depression (33.9%) and stress symptoms (22.5%). The students were more affected than the staff by these symptoms. There were significantly positive, strong correlations between depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Employment uncertainty, fear of losing their jobs, worsening of physical health and disease, and being foreign employees are all DAS risk factors for employees. Stress before and during the lockdown, feeling COVID-19 infection disrupted their daily lives, financial difficulties, verbal abuse, sleeping less than 6 hours, being away from family members, parents' job uncertainties, and physical health deterioration are all DAS risk factors among students. Students and staff at the institution experienced DAS symptoms, and an intervention is recommended to prevent participants from developing burnout problems. The identified students and employees have been referred to counseling, particularly those involving family separation.