Archives of Mental Health (Jan 2015)
Prevalence and correlates for stress among students in a school of medicine in a university in Zambia
Abstract
Background: Stress can have serious consequences that can influence mental health status. Thus, using definition of health, an individual suffering from stress is not a healthy person. No such studies have been conducted in Zambia. Aims and objectives: To determine the prevalence of stress among undergraduate students and to determine factors associated with stress. Methods: This was a cross sectional study. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine independent predictors of stress. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) are reported. The abstract has no results on Pearson Chi-square and Fisher's exact test. Results: From a sample size of 360 students, 70.3% students responded of which 28.5% were found to be stressed. Second year students were 2.29 (95% CI [1.21, 4.34]) and third year students were 2.69 (95% CI [1.44, 5.01]) times more likely to be stressed than the fifth year students. Students who slept four hours or less were 1.58 (95% CI [1.15, 2.17]) times more likely to be stressed compared to students who slept more than four hours. Students who felt that the cause of their stress was due to tests were 80% (AOR= 1.80, 95% CI [1.19, 2.72]) more likely to be stressed compared to students who did not indicate as such. Conclusion: Relatively low prevalence of stress was observed among students at the school of medicine. This could be due to strategies students could have been used to relieve stress.
