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STRESS IN MEDICAL STUDENTS AND BARRIERS THAT PREVENT THEM FROM SEEKING PSYCHOLOGICAL HELP

Tayyaba Ismail, Madiha Sarwar, Hafiz Anzal Farooqi, Sumbal Mushtaq

Background and Objective: Stress has been well documented in students in general and in medical students in particular all over the world and its incidence has been rising over time. Medical students have a better access to mental health care facilities than their non-medical counterparts; but they are usually reluctant to seek help. We carried out this study to access the level of stress among the medical students of Rawalpindi Medical College and also to determine the factors that prevent students from seeking psychiatric help. Methods and Material: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Rawalpindi Medical College. 250 students in the study using stratified random sampling based on year of study and gender. We collected our data using a structured questionnaire that included students’ demographics, Kessler’s scale to measure level of stress (scores 0-19 were labelled as no stress, 20-24 mild stress, 26-29 moderate stress, and 30 and above severe stress) and questions on factors that prevent students from seeking psychological help (i.e. stigma, confidentiality issues, self-treatment, fear of side effects, concern about time, expense and future medical career). All the data was entered and analyzed in SPSS version 22. Results: Out of the 250 students included in the study, 130 (52%) had no stress, 62 (24.8%) had mild stress, 32 (12.8%) had moderate stress and 26 (10.4%) had severe stress. Only 27 (10.8%) students said that they seek psychological help when stressed. The factors that prevented students from seeking help were self stigma (in 39.2% students), fear of social stigma (26.8% students) confidentiality issue (19.2% students), the belief that they could treat themselves (62.4%), concern about time and expense (33.6%), fear of side effects of psychotherapy (38.4%), concern about future medical career (36.4%). Conclusion: Stress among the students of RMC is very high. Majority of the students do not prefer to seek help, and self-treatment, fear of stigma and fear of side effects are the common reasons preventing them from seeking psychological help. Key Words: Stress, psychological help, Kessler’s scale.

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