Prevalence and Level of Stress among Final-year Students at a Health Science Institute in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background Health science institutes can contribute to stress among final-year students, potentially leading to negative academic and professional outcomes, as psychological disorders like anxiety and depression are often underdiagnosed and untreated. Methods A prospective cross-sectional study involving 134 final-year students at Bangladesh Health Professions Institute (BHPI), in Bangladesh assessed stress using the Academic Stress Scale (ASS-40). Data was collected through face-to-face interviews and analyzed using SPSS software 25.0. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data which was retrieved from the participants. Results In this study, 31.40% of 134 participants were in a normal state, while 68.60% were in a stressful state. The highest level of stress was fear of failure, followed by personal inadequacy. Addressable stress areas included teacher-pupil relationship/teaching method. A negligible association (p > 0.05) was found between age of the participants and level of stress of the participants. Conclusion This implies that the educational system, means of teaching, teaching materials, system of materials, teachers as well as the services provided by the institutions cannot provide a conducive environment for effective learning as well as creating a secure future for the students as long as they are able to cope with the academic pressure. A student's educational career is being nipped in the bud due to the weak system of our education and institutional system.