Stress and influencing factors of public health and preventive medicine students in the post-pandemic period: a cross-sectional study in Changsha, China.

Objectives: Little is known about the stress levels and associated factors of public health and preventive medicine students in the post-pandemic period. This study aims to investigate the stress levels of these students in the post-COVID-19 era and to determine the association of personal background, employment attitude, and psychological state with stress. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in March 2023 among 620 public health and preventive medicine students from two universities in Changsha, China. The survey included demographic characteristics, employment attitudes, perceived stress scale 10, general anxiety disorder 7, the University of California at Los Angeles loneliness scale 20, and the PTSD checklist-civilian version. Two-sided Results: The survey was completed by 504 students (mean age: 21.5 ± 2.6 years, 69.2% female). 24.8% of the students were screened for a high level of stress. 69.0% thought the epidemic positively impacted employment while 18.5% believed it had a negative impact. The results of regression analysis showed that older age ( Conclusion: Public health and preventive medicine students in Changsha, China, experienced a high-stress level in the post-pandemic period, which was influenced by age, gender, grade, employment attitude, internship experience, anxiety, and loneliness. As one of the main guardians of the epidemic, these students should be given more attention and psychological interventions in the future.