Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health among University Students - A Cohort Machine Learning Analysis in Bangladesh
August 05, 2021 - February 21, 2022
ABSTRACT. Bangladeshi university students have been affected both physically and mentally by the outbreak of COVID-19. Our university students' mental health, on the other hand, is not given the same level of attention as their physical health. The purpose of the study is to explore the impacts of this pandemic on the mental health state of Bangladeshi university students. In this paper, after data preprocessing, several machine learning models are developed to automatically and accurately predict mental health status. We observed that the Random Forest algorithm performed the best accuracy (>85%) to predict mental health conditions during or after the COVID-19 circumstance. We also conducted statistical analyses, which revealed the most common and significant predictors (Stable family income, Disruption of daily life, Own income, Sleep status) of mental health conditions during Covid-19. Overall, this work could assist university administrations, government agencies, and health specialists in taking appropriate steps to enhance our students' mental health. This research also suggests proper monitoring, government support, and social awareness during the pandemic and after the pandemic to keep an excellent mental health state of university students.
