Stress among nursing undergraduate students of a Brazilian public university

Abstract

Objective.To determine the level of stress among students of an undergraduate course in nursing of a Brazilian public university. Methods. Cross-sectional study involving 111 students who responded to the 30 item questionnaire of Costa and Polak for the Assessment of Stress among Nursing Students, with Likert type response options of 0-3 (0 = I have not experienced the situation; 1 = I do not feel stressed with the situation; 2 = I feel a little stressed with the situation, and 3 = I feel very stressed with the situation). Results. Participants were predominantly single (82.9%), female (83.8%), young adults (mean 23.3 years) and performing some kind of paid work (76.6%).The main stressors were related to the lack of time for: leisure activities (2.6); spending time with family members (2.5) and; completion of extracurricular activities (2.3). The highest levels of stress among students were found in the domains of professional training (52.2%), professional communication (33.3%) and time management (32.4%). Conclusion. The majority of the students presented low levels of stress in the general activities of the course, however, the activities related to time management, especially time for academic activities and social and family life, were identified as permanent stress factors during the graduation course.

Associação dos fatores de estresse e sintomas depressivos com o desempenho acadêmico de estudantes de enfermagem

“…Feelings of loneliness and low social support may affect physical and psychological conditions and academic performance (19,22) . In this study, there was a remarkable occurrence of depressive symptoms in the 3rd semester, which may be related to the adaptation process, the reality of higher education and the beginning of specific disciplines of the nursing course, in which students are already in greater contact with sick and suffering patients, in situations that require knowledge and skills that are still being developed (9,13) . Corroborating these findings, another study found that students in the third and fourth semester presented greater chance of developing depressive symptoms (23) .…”

“…In the present study, the "Performance of practical activities", which is related to the students' skills and their feelings related to patient care, was associated with low and medium stress intensity in fifth, seventh and ninth semester students. Practical activities have been considered as stress factors for nursing students in previous research (13)(14)(15) . This suggests a concern of students with field practice, which may have arisen after the beginning of the fourth semester, when they start their practical activities in health facilities.…”

“…The present study found a high percentage of depressive symptoms among nursing students when compared to the other studies presented. The high prevalence of depressive symptoms may be associated with the stress factors perceived by these individuals, since stress is a distressing factor in the academic context of the nursing student (13) .…”

A Critical Realist Review of Pre-Registration Nursing Student Stress

“…Additionally, a survey in Scotland involving 113 third-year adult nursing students found that some of the greatest reported barriers preventing higher education diploma students from considering a transfer to a degree programme were 'the combined pressures of work, study and family stress' (Sheward 2005, p.153). Similarly, a questionnaire completed by 111 nursing undergraduates at a Brazilian university highlighted that the main stressors reported by students included inadequate time with family members and for leisure activities (de Souza et al, 2016). Given that 'the widening participation agenda has been encouraging mature students to go to university' and data suggests that one in four higher education students in the UK is a parent (White 2012, p.64), it seems reasonable to conclude that such tensions may be commonplace within the undergraduate PRN student population at many universities; especially for those completing part-time undergraduate study.…”

Fatores de estresse, sintomas depressivos, suporte social e resiliência associados ao desempenho acadêmico em estudantes de enfermagem

“…Outro estudo envolvendo 111 estudantes de enfermagem de uma universidade pública no Paraná, também identificou predominância de baixa intensidade de estresse entre os estudantes de enfermagem e a ocorrência de maior intensidade de estresse se deu nos domínios Formação profissional, Comunicação profissional e Gerenciamento do tempo (Souza et al, 2016).…”