ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives: The outbreak of coronavirus in late 2019 has led to the closure of universities in most countries. The results of studies in this field show that the pandemic of Covid-19 and subsequent home quarantine has increased the level of stress and depression among students. Therefore, the aim of this review was to investigate the effect of Covid-19 on student's mental health and related factors.

Methods: Systematic review of databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Science Direct from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic until March 2021 was performed according to PRISMA guidelines. Based on the inclusion criteria, finally 8 articles were selected and evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively. Qualitative evaluation of articles was performed according to the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS).

Results: The results of the present study showed that a high percentage of students affected by the COVID-19 pandemic show mild to severe levels of stress, anxiety and depression. The most important factors affecting the level of mental health of students during home quarantine are student gender, financial status, living with family and educational level.

Conclusion: The results of this study show that it is necessary to pay attention to the mental health of students during the Covid-19 epidemic and especially during the home quarantine by the university management and specialists.

Keywords: Covid-19, Mental health, Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Students