Subjective Wellbeing and Its Associated Factors among University Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Northern Malaysia
Lockdown implementation during COVID-19 pandemic has caused many negative impacts in various aspect of life, including in the academic world. Routine disruption to teaching and learning environment has raised concerns to the wellbeing of university staff and students. This study aimed to examine the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/6/1083 |
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| author | Syaheedatul Iman Dinsuhaimi Asrenee Ab Razak Ahmad Tajudin Liza-Sharmini Wan Mohd Zahiruddin Wan Mohammad Azhany Yaakub Azizah Othman Aziah Daud Kamarul Imran Musa Nani Draman Alwi Besari |
| author_facet | Syaheedatul Iman Dinsuhaimi Asrenee Ab Razak Ahmad Tajudin Liza-Sharmini Wan Mohd Zahiruddin Wan Mohammad Azhany Yaakub Azizah Othman Aziah Daud Kamarul Imran Musa Nani Draman Alwi Besari |
| author_sort | Syaheedatul Iman Dinsuhaimi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Lockdown implementation during COVID-19 pandemic has caused many negative impacts in various aspect of life, including in the academic world. Routine disruption to teaching and learning environment has raised concerns to the wellbeing of university staff and students. This study aimed to examine the subjective wellbeing of the university community in Northern Malaysia during lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic and the factors affecting it. An online cross-sectional survey involving 1148 university staff and students was conducted between March and April 2020. The research tools include the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) to assess subjective wellbeing and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress 21 (DASS-21) scale for psychological distress. While we found the subjective wellbeing score in our study population was stable at 7.67 (1.38), there was high prevalence of anxiety, depression, and stress with 27.4%, 18.4%, and 11.5%, respectively. The students reported higher levels of psychological distress compared to staff. The PWI score was seen to be inversely affected by the depression and stress score with a reduction in the PWI score by 0.022 (95% CI −0.037 to −0.007) and 0.046 (95% CI −0.062 to −0.030) with every one-unit increment for each subscale, respectively. Those who perceived to have more difficulty due to the lockdown also reported low subjective wellbeing. Thus, it is crucial to ensure policies and preventative measures are in place to provide conducive teaching and learning environment. Additionally, the detrimental psychological effects especially among students should be addressed proactively. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:40:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2d1c486e636b43928fd9eb60fc95d234 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:40:40Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-2d1c486e636b43928fd9eb60fc95d2342023-11-23T16:52:39ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322022-06-01106108310.3390/healthcare10061083Subjective Wellbeing and Its Associated Factors among University Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Northern MalaysiaSyaheedatul Iman Dinsuhaimi0Asrenee Ab Razak1Ahmad Tajudin Liza-Sharmini2Wan Mohd Zahiruddin Wan Mohammad3Azhany Yaakub4Azizah Othman5Aziah Daud6Kamarul Imran Musa7Nani Draman8Alwi Besari9Department of Psychiatry, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, MalaysiaDepartment of Psychiatry, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, MalaysiaDepartment of Ophthalmology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, MalaysiaDepartment of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, MalaysiaDepartment of Ophthalmology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, MalaysiaDepartment of Paediatrics, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, MalaysiaDepartment of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, MalaysiaDepartment of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, MalaysiaDepartment of Family Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, MalaysiaDepartment of Internal Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian 16150, MalaysiaLockdown implementation during COVID-19 pandemic has caused many negative impacts in various aspect of life, including in the academic world. Routine disruption to teaching and learning environment has raised concerns to the wellbeing of university staff and students. This study aimed to examine the subjective wellbeing of the university community in Northern Malaysia during lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic and the factors affecting it. An online cross-sectional survey involving 1148 university staff and students was conducted between March and April 2020. The research tools include the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) to assess subjective wellbeing and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress 21 (DASS-21) scale for psychological distress. While we found the subjective wellbeing score in our study population was stable at 7.67 (1.38), there was high prevalence of anxiety, depression, and stress with 27.4%, 18.4%, and 11.5%, respectively. The students reported higher levels of psychological distress compared to staff. The PWI score was seen to be inversely affected by the depression and stress score with a reduction in the PWI score by 0.022 (95% CI −0.037 to −0.007) and 0.046 (95% CI −0.062 to −0.030) with every one-unit increment for each subscale, respectively. Those who perceived to have more difficulty due to the lockdown also reported low subjective wellbeing. Thus, it is crucial to ensure policies and preventative measures are in place to provide conducive teaching and learning environment. Additionally, the detrimental psychological effects especially among students should be addressed proactively.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/6/1083subjective wellbeinguniversity communitylockdownCOVID-19 |
| spellingShingle | Syaheedatul Iman Dinsuhaimi Asrenee Ab Razak Ahmad Tajudin Liza-Sharmini Wan Mohd Zahiruddin Wan Mohammad Azhany Yaakub Azizah Othman Aziah Daud Kamarul Imran Musa Nani Draman Alwi Besari Subjective Wellbeing and Its Associated Factors among University Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Northern Malaysia Healthcare subjective wellbeing university community lockdown COVID-19 |
| title | Subjective Wellbeing and Its Associated Factors among University Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Northern Malaysia |
| title_full | Subjective Wellbeing and Its Associated Factors among University Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Northern Malaysia |
| title_fullStr | Subjective Wellbeing and Its Associated Factors among University Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Northern Malaysia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Subjective Wellbeing and Its Associated Factors among University Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Northern Malaysia |
| title_short | Subjective Wellbeing and Its Associated Factors among University Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Northern Malaysia |
| title_sort | subjective wellbeing and its associated factors among university community during the covid 19 pandemic in northern malaysia |
| topic | subjective wellbeing university community lockdown COVID-19 |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/6/1083 |
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