[01] Vinnit Kobbin, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [02] Ng Wua Jzui, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [03] Marcelus Teo, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [04] Ting Xue Hui, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [05] Izzalia Amalini binti Abdul Halim, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka-Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia.

There are various studies which investigates the psychological impact of COVID-19 upon the general population in different countries. However, there is little data on the mental consequences of COVID-19 on the people of Malaysia. Therefore, there is a call for such studies into this important matter. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate medical and dental students in their clinical years in Melaka-Manipal Medical College (MMMC), Malaysia between May and June 2020. It aims to determine the fear, anxiety, and coping mechanisms during COVID-19 among undergraduate students of MMMC. It also looks into the comparison of fear and coping mechanisms during COVID-19 between different sociodemographic characteristics such as age, sex, race, religion and history of mental illness among undergraduate students of MMMC. The students of each semester were selected by a non-probability purposive sampling method and a validated questionnaire via Google forms was sent online to them. The questionnaire comprised 4 sections with informed consent given beforehand. The first section was on socio demographic data. Second section contained 7 items regarding fear. The third section had 22 items regarding anxiety. The last section had 9 items regarding coping mechanisms. A total of 332 undergraduate students of MMMC that completed the questionnaire provided neutral or disagree responses and scored a mean score of 16.6 (SD=5.1) for fear. The undergraduate students also showed low anxiety and has developed positive coping mechanisms during COVID-19. There is no significant association between gender, age, race and history of mental illness with fear of COVID-19 among the undergraduate students of MMMC. However, there is significant association between religion and fear of COVID-19 among the undergraduate students of MMMC. The study also showed that there is no association between gender, race, age and history of mental illness with coping mechanisms, but there is significant association between religion and the coping mechanism of undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, education via campaign, media ads, and counselling would be an ideal method to reach out and educate the undergraduate students of MMMC in Malaysia on how to cope with their fear and anxiety during this COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19, Fear, Anxiety, Coping, Psychological Impact, Undergraduate Students

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