Pol Merkur Lekarski. 2025;53(5):620-628. doi: 10.36740/Merkur202505109.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Aim: To determine the prevalence of traumatization, depression, stress, and anxiety during the war in the rear western region of Ukraine.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and Methods: For the study of the war’s impact on the psychological state of medical students to be successful, it is essential to analyze various influencing factors and explore possible ways of supporting students in difficult situations duringmilitary conflict. The 1 to 6-year students of the Medical Faculty of I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University, who voluntarily completed the DASS-21 survey scale, participated in our research on students’ mental health. The statistical sample was 716 students.
RESULTS: Results: To compare the degree of the emotional state of depression, anxiety, and stress in medical students, we have used a survey conducted among the students (716 people). Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University in 2019 and 2024. In 2019, the degree of depression severity among the students was determined to be 50.9%, anxiety – 48.9%, and stress – 50.7%. After two years of the war, in 2024, this indicator is already 65.8%, 65.9 %, and 74.7%, respectively, which is 1.3 times higher than the degree of depression and anxiety severity and 1.5 times higher than the degree of stress severity in 2019. Withinan extensivesurvey of I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical Universitystudents, 98% said they had been affected by the war in some way, 86% suffered from war-related nightmares, 49% experienced symptoms of insomnia, and 27% had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. However, the mental health of young people who were close to the combat zone or directly participated in hostilities was significantly worse. At the same time, another study on the mental state of students in Ukraine revealed that symptoms of psychological disorder were observed in 52.7% of respondents, with anxiety being characteristic of the majority of participants – 54.1%. Almost half of the young respondents reported experiencing depression – 46.8%. The conducted studies established a connection between mental health disorders among young Ukrainians and factors such as gender, place of residence (urban or rural area), whether they lived in territory occupied by Russian forces, as well as the presence of their own family or elderly relatives.
CONCLUSION: Conclussions: As the trauma of war can persist for years after its end, there is a need to monitor the psychological state and well-being of students systematically. It is equally important to study the aspects of strengthening psychological health and the resources that may be needed for this. Maintaining students’ mental health in martial law requires all types of resources (personal, physical, informational, and other), psychological competence, social support, cognitive training, and simulation modeling methods.
PMID:41075233 | DOI:10.36740/Merkur202505109
