{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]],"date-time":"2026-01-19T04:13:13Z","timestamp":1768795993426,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,8]],"date-time":"2022-07-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1657238400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>COVID-19 is a challenge for education systems around the world. This study aimed to evaluate the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing students, by assessing their emotions, the level of concern in contracting the virus and their perceived stress. We conducted an observational cross-sectional study. A total of 709 nursing students completed an anonymous questionnaire. The levels of anxiety and stress were assessed using the generalized anxiety disorder scale and the COVID-19 student stress questionnaire, respectively. In total, 56.8% of the sample often or always found it difficult to attend distance-learning activities. The main difficulty referred to was connection problems (75.7%). The mean generalized anxiety disorder score was 9.46 (SD = 5.4) and appeared almost homogeneous among students across the three years of study; most of the students showed mild (35%) to moderate (27%) levels of anxiety; 19% had severe anxiety. The overall COVID-19 stressor mean scores were 11.40 (SD = 6.50); the majority of the students (47.1%) showed scores indicative of moderate stress, 25% showed low stress levels, and 28% showed high-stress levels. Improvements and investments are needed to ensure high-quality distance learning, adequate connectivity, technical support for students, as well as strategies to promote mental health.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19148347","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,8]],"date-time":"2022-07-08T11:37:08Z","timestamp":1657280228000},"page":"8347","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":22,"title":["COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5759-1065","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Felice","family":"Curcio","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Sassari (UNISS), Viale San Pietro 43\/B, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1566-1974","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cesar","family":"Gonz\u00e1lez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, 09042 Cagliari, Italy"}]},{"given":"Maria","family":"Zicchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Sassari (UNISS), Viale San Pietro 43\/B, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}]},{"given":"Gabriele","family":"Sole","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mater Olbia Hospital, Strada Statale 125 Orientale Sarda, 07026 Olbia, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3059-9865","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gabriele","family":"Finco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, 09042 Cagliari, Italy"}]},{"given":"Oumaima","family":"Ez zinabi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Mater Olbia Hospital, Strada Statale 125 Orientale Sarda, 07026 Olbia, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0005-6384","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pedro","family":"Melo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Interdisiplinary Research in Health, Universidade Cat\u00f3lica Portuguesa, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0124-4248","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maura","family":"Galletta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato, 09042 Cagliari, Italy"}]},{"given":"Jos\u00e9","family":"Martinez-Riera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community Nursing, Preventive Medicine and Public Health and History of Science, University of Alicante, 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, Spain"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"727","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMoa2001017","article-title":"A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019","volume":"382","author":"Zhu","year":"2020","journal-title":"N. 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