ANXIOUS AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AMONG HEALTH STUDENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF EMERGENCY REMOTE LEARNING

Objective: To analyze the prevalence of anxious and depressive symptoms among health students in the context of emergency remote learning. Method: This is a cross-sectional, observational, and descriptive study using a virtual questionnaire between November 2021 and June 2022. A total of 105 students participated. The questionnaire covered sociodemographic and psychosocial variables and validated instruments for assessing anxiety and depressive disorders. Results: The results showed a prevalence of 62.8% anxious symptoms and 40.9% depressive symptoms. There is a correlation between variables such as course type, aspects of remote learning (e.g., quality of internet access), having a prior mental disorder diagnosis, and reporting psychological changes during the pandemic, with significance p < 0.05. Conclusion: The prevalence is slightly higher than the standards proposed by the literature, and statistical tests indicate that there is no single factor associated with positive symptoms of anxiety and depression, but rather a plurality of factors.