Psychological Health of First-Year Health Professional Students in a Medical University in the United Arab Emirates
Journal Title: Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal - Year 2012, Vol 12, Issue 2
Abstract
Objectives: Te aim of this study was to assess the psychological health of frst-year health professional students and to study sources of student stress. Methods: All frst-year students (N = 125) of the Gulf Medical University (GMU) in Ajman, United Arab Emirates (UAE), were invited to participate in a voluntary, anonymous, self-administered, questionnaire-based survey in January 2011. Psychological health was assessed using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. A 24-item questionnaire, with items related to academic, psychosocial and health domains was used to identify sources of stress. Pearson’s chi-squared test and the Mann-Whitney U-test were used for testing the association between psychological morbidity and sources of stress. Results: A total of 112 students (89.6%) completed the survey and the overall prevalence of psychological morbidity was found to be 33.6%. Te main academic-related sources of stress were ‘frequency of exams’, ‘academic workload’, and ‘time management’. Major psychosocial stressors were ‘worries regarding future’, ‘high parental expectations’, ‘anxiety’, and ‘dealing with members of the opposite sex’. Health-related issues were ‘irregular eating habits’, ‘lack of exercise’, and ‘sleep-related problems’. Psychological morbidity was not signifcantly associated with any of the demographic factors studied. However, total stress scores and academics-related domain scores were signifcantly associated with psychological morbidity. Conclusion: Psychological morbidity was seen in one in three frst-year students attending GMU. While worries regarding the future and parental expectations were sources of stress for many students, psychological morbidity was found to be signifcantly associated with only the total stress and the academic-related domain scores.
Authors and Affiliations
Kadayam G Gomathi| Department of Biochemistry, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE, Soofa Ahmed| Department of Physiology, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE, Jayadevan Sreedharan| Department of Research Division, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE
Keywords
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