The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of nursing students during their internship ; O impacto da pandemia da Covid-19 na saúde mental dos acadêmicos de enfermagem durante o estágio curricular

Nursing plays an important role in the fight against Covid-19, as professionals spend most of their time helping to care for patients, which increases their susceptibility to infection by the virus. This scenario includes nursing students in the final year of their course, who are working on the front line against Covid-19. The aim was to assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of nursing students during their internship. This study is characterized as an exploratory field study with a qualitative approach. The research participants were students enrolled in supervised internships I and II, regularly enrolled in the Nursing course at the aforementioned institution. Of the 50 students interviewed, 31 were female and 19 male, aged between 20 and 26, with 32 of them living with family members during the pandemic, of whom 44% showed normal symptoms for anxiety, 58% for depression and 54% for stress. In terms of quality of life, 24% suffered physical impairment, 24% psychological impairment, 44% social impairment and 58% environmental impairment. Women had significantly higher levels of stress and anxiety (Mean=9.26; SD± 4.865). Individuals living alone had lower scores for physical quality of life (Mean=3.440; SD±0.939) and environmental quality of life (Mean=3.380; SD±0.998), (Mean=13.42; SD±7.562). There was a statistically significant association between the age variable and depression (p-value=0.05), with a greater predominance of depressive symptoms in individuals aged between 27 and 33 years (Mean=11.64; SD±9.266), and a significant association between the age and environmental quality of life variables (p-value=0.05), with lower rates in individuals aged between 26 and 33 years, indicating greater damage to the quality of life of these individuals (Mean=3.720; SD±0.715). Although anxiety, depression and stress levels ranged from normal to mild. There was a significant association between the age variable and depression, with a higher prevalence among students aged between 27 and 33. ...