Psychological distress among undergraduate health sciences students in Uganda

African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Psychological distress among undergraduate health sciences students in Uganda
 
Creator Naswiibah, Nakitende Muhindo, Richard
 
Subject primary health care; education psychological distress; health science; students; undergraduate; university.
Description Background: Psychological distress (PD) is a prevalent concern among undergraduate health science students globally. Despite this, data specific to Uganda is limited.Aim: This study assessed the prevalence of PD among undergraduate health sciences students in Uganda.Methods: We obtained data on the psychological distress burden using self-administered DASS-21 questionnaires. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20.Results: We enrolled 398 participants, of whom 217 (54.5%) were males. The median age of the participants was 22 years (interquartile range [IQR], 21 to 24). Of the participants, more than half (57%) had moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety. Nearly half of them (42%) reported moderate to severe symptoms of depression, while 26% of the students had moderate to severe symptoms of stress.Lessons Learnt: This study highlights significant psychological distress among health science students at Makerere University, with high levels of anxiety, depression and stress. It emphasises the need for improved mental health support in academic settings, aligning with the African Journal of Primary Health Care Family Medicine’s focus on contextual healthcare challenges.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of State’s Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy (S/GAC), and President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
Date 2025-03-26
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Cross-sectional study
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/phcfm.v17i1.4749
 
Source African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine; Vol 17, No 1 (2025); 6 pages 2071-2936 2071-2928
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/4749/8054 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/4749/8055 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/4749/8056 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/4749/8057
 
Coverage Uganda May 2023- August 2023 undegradate health science students
Rights Copyright (c) 2025 Nakitende Naswiibah, Richard Muhindo https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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