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Background COVID-19 pandemic is expected to affect the mental health, especially among medical students. Data from the literature in Jordan are scarce, especially during the second wave of the pandemic. We aimed to assess medical students’ level of fear, prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms—represented in psychological distress (PD)—and sleep quality (SQ) amid the current pandemic of COVID-19. A total of 2104 students were included through convenient sampling from the six schools of Medicine in Jordan. Online-based questionnaire using Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) scale, Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S), and Sleep Quality Scale (SQS) was used to collect the data. Chi-square, t-tests, and ANOVA were used to establish the associations. Results 88.4% and 47.4% of the students were found to have PD and poor or just fair sleep quality on SQS, respectively, with PD ranging from mild (18.6%) to severe (42.1%). Calculated FCV-19S score was 14.62 (SD=5.38), indicating high level of fear. Students with excellent SQ had significantly lower rates of depression, anxiety, and PD as compared to those with good, fair, and poor SQ (P < 0.001 for all). Conclusion Jordanian medical students appear to be especially susceptible to COVID-19 pandemic impact on mental health and reported high rates of PD. While rates of COVID-19 fear are still considered high, they are remarkably lower than that reported in early studies. We strongly recommend providing resources and access to professional mental health care to students reporting poor SQ and/or symptoms of anxiety and depression. Limitations Using a cross-sectional design, online-based survey, convenient sampling, and scarcity of local literature are among the inevitable limitations caused by the pandemic that have prevented us from drawing cause-effect associations.

Evidence suggests that professional drivers are at risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE), a life-threatening yet preventable disease. Awareness of VTE among this population has not been assessed in the Middle East. The study aimed to assess professional drivers' awareness of VTE and attitudes toward VTE preventive measures. We used a validated VTE awareness questionnaire to interview 324 drivers in Saudi Arabia during February-March 2020. Knowledge about VTE was the lowest compared to other medical conditions. Less than a third (31.8%) of the drivers were aware of VTE. Only 15.7% of those with prior awareness correctly identified all four deep vein thrombosis symptoms, and only 7.4% correctly identified all five pulmonary embolism symptoms. A significant proportion believed in unrelated practices for VTE prevention. Health promotion campaigns are urgently needed to raise awareness and to promote healthy behaviors.

The stigmatization of people with mental illness is a worldwide problem. The authors aimed to assess stigmatizing attitudes among medical students at a university in Saudi Arabia towards mental illness and to evaluate the association of psychiatric education and planned medical specialty with stigmatizing attitudes and beliefs concerning the treatability and etiology of mental illness. A cross-sectional survey of currently enrolled medical students at Sulaiman Al Rajhi University was conducted through convenience sampling using a 52-item questionnaire. Factor analysis identified four unique factors representing attitudes and beliefs towards mental illness. ANOVA and Chi-square tests were used to evaluate the differences in attitude among students at different levels and other variables associated with these factors. Altogether 245 students (46.7 %) responded to the survey. Completion of a classroom psychiatry course, but not a clinical clerkship, was associated with a stronger belief in the effectiveness of the treatment of both medical and mental illnesses (p = 0.031) as well as greater acceptance of the biopsychosocial model of the etiology of mental illness (p = 0.001). Students interested in pursuing a surgical career had weaker beliefs in the effectiveness of treatment of mental illnesses as compared to students interested in other minor specialties (p = 0.002). While attitudes towards socializing with people with mental illness did not differ significantly with different levels of psychiatric education, beliefs about treatability and biopsychosocial etiology seem to be strengthened after a classroom psychiatry course but not further reinforced after the clinical clerkship.

AimsDue to the nature of their work, professional drivers face a considerable risk of developing depression and other mental illnesses. We sought to assess the prevalence and the factors influencing depressive symptoms among professional drivers in Saudi Arabia.MethodUsing convenience sampling, we have conducted an interviewer-administered survey on 324 professional drivers in Qassim Region in Saudi Arabia using Depression subscale from the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21). Participants were interviewed in their native language, and responses were outlined directly into an online form in English. Data were then extracted and analyzed using SPSS software.ResultParticipants’ mean age was 38.6 years, and mean driving hours per day were 9.86 hours/day. The mean DASS-21 depression score among the professional drivers was 2.88. Overall, 21.9% of the included drivers had variable degrees of depressive symptoms, with 7.4% suffered from extremely severe symptoms. Depressive symptoms were influenced by the driver's nationality, educational level, vehicle type, driving years, BMI, presence of chronic medical conditions, physical activity, and sexual activity. Moreover, poor sleep quality increased the risk of developing depressive symptoms among the drivers by 31.9 times (OR: 31.9, CI: 9.03–112.63, P < 0.001).ConclusionNearly one-fifth of professional drivers in Saudi Arabia (Qassim region) suffer from depressive symptoms. Unhealthy lifestyle practices (i.e. being obese and physically inactive) have been closely related to depressive symptoms. Education, sexual activity, type of driven vehicle, and the number of chronic conditions were also associated with depressive symptoms. Also, poor and fair sleep quality was strongly associated with the development of depressive symptoms as compared with excellent sleep quality. As drivers are always on the move and hardly reachable, we would propose psychological support and counseling to be administered via telemedicine services. Future research is needed to better comprehend the needs of this vulnerable population.