A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Specialty Certificate in Psychiatry
| dc.contributor.advisor | Pain Clare | |
| dc.contributor.author | Getachew Meron | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-10-23T13:05:35Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-01-08T14:43:11Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-10-23T13:05:35Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-01-08T14:43:11Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017-11 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Introduction:Numerous studies have shown that mental distress is a common problem among medicalstudents. Factors associated varied across studies, however, the negative impact ofmental distress on medical students has been shown to be manifold. Mental distressprofiles may show variation over time, requiring periodic assessments so as to tailorinterventions that best suit the current situation. Objective:The objective of this study is to assess the level of mental distress and associated factorsamong medical students of Addis Ababa University. Methods:A facility-based, cross-sectional, quantitative study was conducted on medical students of Addis Ababa University. Stratified random sampling was employed & data was collected from consenting medical students (preclinical year 1 to internship) using a 2-partstructured, self-administered questionnaire (Part I: Background Data & Part II: The 20-item Self Reporting Questionnaire [SRQ-20] English version). SPSS version 20 was used fordata entry and univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to assess factorsassociated with mental distress.vi Results:A total of 291 medical students participated in the study. The one-month prevalence of mental distress among medical students of Addis Ababa University was 64.9%, which isnearly double the prevalence 12 years ago. Suicidal ideation was reported by 14.1% of therespondents (6% in the original study). Female sex (AOR=2.187, 95% CI=1.131- 4.231),current feelings of dissatisfaction about having joined Medicine (AOR=2.839, 95%CI=1.278- 6.302) and having experienced a challenging life event in the preceding 30 days(AOR= 3.787 95% CI=1.179- 12.167) were associated independently with greater odds of mental distress. Lifetime substance use (X2= 10.658, df= 1, p=0.001) and currentsubstance use (X2=4.080, df=1, p=0.043) had significant associations with mental distressbut no such association was present in multivariate analysis. Other variables including ageand year of study showed no (significant) association with mental distress in univariate ormultivariate analyses. Conclusion:The study shows that the prevalence of mental distress among medical students of Addis Ababa University is higher than that reported 12 years ago. Continued supportive interventions for medical students and studies of a qualitative nature are recommended. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/13098 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Addis Ababa University | en_US |
| dc.subject | mental distress,medical students | en_US |
| dc.title | A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Specialty Certificate in Psychiatry | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |