@article{3119928,
    title = "The role of medical students during COVID-19 era. A review",
    author = "Magklara, E. and Angelis, S. and Solia, E. and Katsimantas, A. and Kourlaba, G. and Kostakis, G. and Tsakotos, G. and Zaoutis, T. and Filippou, D.",
    journal = "Acta Biomedica",
    year = "2021",
    volume = "92",
    number = "1",
    publisher = "Mattioli 1885 Publishing Company",
    doi = "10.23750/abm.v92i1.10873",
    keywords = "aptitude;  Article;  awareness;  coronavirus disease 2019;  coughing;  diarrhea;  disease surveillance;  dyspnea;  fatigue;  health care system;  human;  knowledge;  medical student;  mental health;  pandemic;  prevalence;  questionnaire;  sneezing;  social media;  training;  virus transmission;  attitude to health;  health care personnel;  medical student;  prevention and control;  psychology, COVID-19;  Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice;  Health Personnel;  Humans;  Mental Health;  SARS-CoV-2;  Students, Medical",
    abstract = "Background and aim of the work: Since December 2019, the world has been facing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Medical students could not remain uninvolved. Our aim is to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health, and to evaluate their awareness and aptitude for contributing to the fight against COVID-19. Methods: An in-depth search of the literature was performed in Pubmed database, for studies investigating the preferred source of information about COVID-19, the knowledge on virus transmission, COVID-19 clinical symptoms and preventive measures against its spread, and the impact of COVID-19 on mental health among medical students. Their potential roles during the COVID-19 pandemic were also investigated. Results: Twenty studies were included. The majority of medical students prefer social media to acquire knowledge about COVID-19. They are adequately informed about COVID-19 transmission and symptoms, as well as preventive measures against COVID-19, although wear-ing a face-mask is not so popular among them. Their mental health is affected, mainly expressed as a fear of infection. Possible alternative roles of students during pandemic may be providing information to the public and tracing contacts of infected people. Conclusions: Medical students have an adequate level of knowledge upon COVID-19 and implement proper strategies to prevent its spread. Further training is essential to im-prove some aspects in this field. Despite the negative impact of COVID-19 on their mental health, they could assist healthcare systems under appropriate precautions. (www.actabiomedica.it). © Mattioli 1885."
}