Psychological Health of First-Year Health Professional Students in a Medical University in the United Arab Emirates
Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the psychological health of first-year health professional students and to study sources of student stress. Methods: All first-year students (N = 125) of the Gulf Medical University (GMU) in Ajman, United Arab Emirates (UAE), were invited to participat...
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Sultan Qaboos University
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doaj-755951ba1f414b26b67031751b9d6e3c2020-11-24T21:32:59ZengSultan Qaboos UniversitySultan Qaboos University Medical Journal 2075-051X2075-05282012-05-01122206213Psychological Health of First-Year Health Professional Students in a Medical University in the United Arab EmiratesKadayam G Gomathi0Soofia Ahmed1Jayadevan Sreedharan2Department of Biochemistry, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAEDepartment of Physiology, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAEResearch Division, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAEObjectives: The aim of this study was to assess the psychological health of first-year health professional students and to study sources of student stress. Methods: All first-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%. The 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 significantly associated with any of the demographic factors studied. However, total stress scores and academics-related domain scores were significantly associated with psychological morbidity. Conclusion: Psychological morbidity was seen in one in three first-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 significantly associated with only the total stress and the academic-related domain scores.http://web.squ.edu.om/squmj/includes/tng/pub/tNG_download.asp?id=30ac8eedbb3094ac72391348ace36604Psychological stressMedical studentHealth professionsUndergraduate medical educationUnited Arab Emirates |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Kadayam G Gomathi Soofia Ahmed Jayadevan Sreedharan |
spellingShingle |
Kadayam G Gomathi Soofia Ahmed Jayadevan Sreedharan Psychological Health of First-Year Health Professional Students in a Medical University in the United Arab Emirates Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal Psychological stress Medical student Health professions Undergraduate medical education United Arab Emirates |
author_facet |
Kadayam G Gomathi Soofia Ahmed Jayadevan Sreedharan |
author_sort |
Kadayam G Gomathi |
title |
Psychological Health of First-Year Health Professional Students in a Medical University in the United Arab Emirates |
title_short |
Psychological Health of First-Year Health Professional Students in a Medical University in the United Arab Emirates |
title_full |
Psychological Health of First-Year Health Professional Students in a Medical University in the United Arab Emirates |
title_fullStr |
Psychological Health of First-Year Health Professional Students in a Medical University in the United Arab Emirates |
title_full_unstemmed |
Psychological Health of First-Year Health Professional Students in a Medical University in the United Arab Emirates |
title_sort |
psychological health of first-year health professional students in a medical university in the united arab emirates |
publisher |
Sultan Qaboos University |
series |
Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal |
issn |
2075-051X 2075-0528 |
publishDate |
2012-05-01 |
description |
Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the psychological health of first-year health professional students and to study sources of student stress. Methods: All first-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%. The 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 significantly associated with any of the demographic factors studied. However, total stress scores and academics-related domain scores were significantly associated with psychological
morbidity. Conclusion: Psychological morbidity was seen in one in three first-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 significantly associated with only the total stress and the academic-related domain scores. |
topic |
Psychological stress Medical student Health professions Undergraduate medical education United Arab Emirates |
url |
http://web.squ.edu.om/squmj/includes/tng/pub/tNG_download.asp?id=30ac8eedbb3094ac72391348ace36604 |
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