Mental health in higher education in the post-pandemic period of covid-19

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate and compare the mental health of the academic community of the Instituto Superior Tecnológico Riobamba (ISTR) in Ecuador during the post-pandemic period of COVID-19. Methodology: The study involved 154 participants who were selected through stratified random sampling, fulfilling two roles, the student role N=77 and teaching role N=77. The Goldberg General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) was used and a Chi-Square test of Homogeneity X2 was applied to compare the results between students and teachers. Results: In terms of mental health diagnosis, several prominent symptoms were identified in each dimension. In the Somatic Dimension, headache (35.7%) and exhaustion (31.2%) stood out. In the Anxiety Dimension, overwhelm and tension (33.1%) and insomnia (31.8%) prevailed. In the Social Dimension, a greater impact on activation time (22.7%) and the ability to enjoy (22.7%) was observed. In the Depression Dimension, uncontrollable nerves (14.3%) and persistent self-harming thoughts (11.0%) were highlighted. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in the Somatic (X2=4.026; p=0.045) and Depression (X2=4.107; p=0.043) dimensions between students and teachers. However, no statistically significant differences were found in the Social (X2=2.77; p=0.096) and Anxiety (X2=0.496; p=0.481) dimensions. Conclusion: This study indicates the presence of cases of mental health problems in the ISTR student and faculty population after the COVID-19 pandemic period. Furthermore, it confirms the existence of significant differences in the Somatic and Depression dimensions between these two groups, which underlines the importance of specifically addressing mental health needs in these academic contexts. General Study Area: Psychology. Specific area of ​​study: Mental Health. Study type: Original articles.