Nível de estresse em estudantes de fisioterapia durante o distanciamento social

Abstract

Introduction: The new coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19 disease, was detected on December 31, 2019 in Wuhan, China and quickly spread around the world, generating a pandemic. To contain the spread of the virus, which quickly overloaded health systems in many countries, the practice of isolation has been widely adopted. However, this new routine brought about abrupt changes in behavior and adaptation, and students needed to adapt in a hurry due to the moment of social isolation generated by the pandemic, where universities underwent changes in the academic calendar and classroom classes were replaced by teaching the distance. Stress can affect the academic performance of healthcare students, decreasing their attention and concentration, affecting their decision-making skills, and impairing the establishment of an effective relationship with the patient. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the level of stress in physiotherapy students during the period of social distancing. method: Cross-sectional descriptive study and two questionnaires, one partner and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) were used. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of PUC Goiás (CEP-PUC Goiás) under opinion number 4,371,687. Results: The study included 137 students with a mean age of 22.48 years (SD ±3.95) and 85.4% (117) are women and 87.6% (120) are single, 46.0%. and, in this study, it was observed that in all questions there was a significant number of students who answered “very often” or “sometimes”. When it comes to annoyance, stress and irritation, most students respond that “very often” these feelings were present. This shows us that the vast majority present with a high level of stress. Discussion: This study brought important information about the moment these students lived during the moment of social distancing. According to the answers found in the sample, we can associate the moment students are going through with the feeling of frustration and stress, which can negatively alter their self-perception of their situation and their control over it. Conclusion: Changes in students' lifestyles due to lack of physical exercise, poor eating habits and social distancing itself can lead to a high level of stress and it is important that stress prevention and combat strategies are carried out to minimize the effects of this prolonged distancing and pandemic.