Background: Being in medical school has always been regarded as highly stressful. Excessive stress causes physical and mental health problems. Persistent stress can impair students’ academic achievement and personal or professional development.
Objective: This study was aimed to explore the nature of stress among medical students by determining the prevalence and association between the levels of stress and study variables among Navodaya Medical College Students.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study design utilizing validated questionnaire, Kessler 10 questionnaire to evaluate stress levels was used. 245 medical students from Navodaya Medical College, Raichur, Karnataka, India participated in the study. Institutional Ethical Committee clearance was obtained prior to the event. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.
Results: Out of all the medical students who were administered the questionnaire, 245 respondents participated in this study. Prevalence of mild, moderate and severe stress were 25.56%, 19.58% and 13.74% respectively. 41.12% of the study group was not under stress. Year of study was the only significant factor affecting stress among medical students (Pvalue <0.05)
Conclusion: The prevalence of stress among medical students in Navodaya Medical College is high. Academic-related problems were the major stressor among medical students. Year of study was the factor most significantly associated with medical students’ stress. The results showed that there is a decrease in the psychological health of 1st year medical students.
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