• Ruth Ketty Kisuza, Saviour Kicaber, Ronald Olum, Dianah Rhoda Nassozi, Abel Wembabazi, Jennifer Namagembe, Enid Akot, Derrick Bary Abila, Felix Bongomin, and Christopher Garimoi Orach.
• School of Biomedical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University Kampala Uganda.
• Afr Health Sci. 2023 Dec 1; 23 (4): 132142132-142.

AimTo describe the negative experiences, coping strategies for stressful situations, and factors associated with COVID-19 worry among undergraduate students at Makerere University during the second COVID-19 lockdown in Uganda.MethodsDescriptive cross-sectional study at Makerere University. Negative experiences and coping strategies were measured using a semi-structured questionnaire formulated based on literature and findings from previous studies on mental health and COVID-19. Descriptive statistics and measures of association were done using Stata 13.ResultsA total of 301 participants were enrolled. Their median age were 23 years. The majority were male (192, 64.0 %), single (269, 89.7 %,) and on normal academic progress (241, 80.3 %). 48.0 % of the participants were worried about COVID-19. Disruption of students' academics (277, 92.0 %) and financial problems (184, 61.1 %) were the most reported negative experiences. Coping strategies included listening to music (203, 67.4 %), talking to family and friends (191, 63.5 %,) and watching movies (174, 57.8 %). Female students than males (aOR: 2.0, 95% CI: 1.0-45.0, p= 0.118) and students without paid employment than those with paid work (aOR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.0-5.0, p=0.109) were more worried about COVID-19.ConclusionNearly half of the students were worried about COVID-19, which disrupted their social and academic lives. The students utilized a myriad of coping strategies.© 2023 Kisuza RK et al.

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