Stress among Nursing and Midwifery Students Offering a Top-Up Module in the University of Health and Allied Health Sciences, Ho

Abstract

Previous studies have posited that students studying in medical-related fields are particularly susceptible to high levels of academic stress with implication for both psychological and physical health. This study set in the environment of a newly established public university in Ghana, seeks to evaluate the levels and component stress among students offering nursing and midwifery in the top-up module in the University of Health and Allied Science, Ho. In descriptive study using a modified version of the pre-validated College Undergraduate Stress Scale, 315 second and third year Midwifery 82 (26.03%), Nursing 155 (49.21%) and Public Health Nursing 78 (24.76%) students obtaining bachelors degree in top-up module were surveyed for this study. Among the total study population, 109 (34.60%) experienced high stress level, 106 (33.65%) experienced moderate stress level and 100 (31.75%) experienced less stress level. Stress levels were higher among the female participants. Participants with children under 13 years and female participants with breastfeeding babies showed higher levels of stress. A majority of students in the sandwich top-up bachelor degree programme experience moderate to high stress mostly due to curriculum overload. Therefore, innovative means should be sought to lessen the level of stress among this category of students. For example, pre-recorded video lectures could be incorporated into the module to lessen the overload in school work.

An Exploration of Second-year Stuqdent Nurse's Perceptions of Stress Towards Substandard Academic Performance at University, Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia

“…Con icts that the students encountered during clinical practice stem from the di culties health care staff experience in adapting to the new and di culties all face in reaching a mutual understanding (22). Hence, in Ghana, the prevalence of interpersonal stress was also reported high among students (23). Therefore, similar ndings were found in this study as some of the participants of this study shared their experiences regarding con icts with registered nurses in clinical settings.…”

“…(P 4) Overwhelmed with theory workload There were various factors contributed to the stress experienced by nursing students as evidenced by the study that was done by (1), with the following statistics: top stressors were, academic curriculum 38%, dissatisfaction with class lecturers 30.9%, long-distance walk 29.5%, lack of time for recreation 28.9%, performance in examination 28.3%, lack of special guidance from faculty 26.7% and high parental expectations 26.7%. Indeed, (7), found that health care curriculum was negatively associated with stress, depression, and anxiety this nding corroborated that of (23), who concluded that students experienced stress mostly due to curriculum overload. Admittedly, (13) also concluded that nursing students experienced a high level of stress due to excessive work load this review was similar to the ndings of this study as some participants had this to say: "Fear of test and examination!…”

Stress and coping strategies among Saudi nursing students during clinical education

“…Students encounter high levels of stress due to the pressure to succeed in an academic environment. [2][3][4][5][6] Stressors such as social, emotional, physical, psychological, and family problems are thought to be the most common factors affecting students' capacity to learn and academic achievement. 7,8 Other factors causing stress in college were changes in living conditions, deadlines, the class environment, and future career concerns.…”

“…Students encounter high levels of stress due to the pressure to succeed in an academic environment . Stressors such as social, emotional, physical, psychological, and family problems are thought to be the most common factors affecting students’ capacity to learn and academic achievement .…”