Stress and Health in Nursing Students

Álvarez, Héctor A. Olvera; Provencio-Vasquez, Elías; Slavich, George M.; Laurent, José Guillermo Cedeño; Browning, Matthew H.E.M.; McKee-Lopez, Gloria; Robbins, Leslie K.; Spengler, John D.

doi:10.1097/nnr.0000000000000383

Cited by 62 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…There may therefore be a need for more targeted monitoring and support for the mental health of undergraduate nursing students. This is an international concern, and has prompted a study following up stress among nursing students in the US as they transition to their first job [ 11 ]. Potential poor psychological health among the nursing workforce is extremely worrying, given that they are likely to have longer careers than their predecessors, and require psychological capacity and resilience to provide high standards of nursing care.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does the self-reported health of undergraduate nursing students change during their degree programme? Survey results from a Scottish University

et al. 2021

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Background The lifestyle behaviours, and the physical and mental health of nurses, are poorer than those of other allied health professionals, and of the general population. However, these were no less favourable among first year undergraduate nursing students at a Scottish Higher Education Institution (HEI) than among similar people of the same age. We compared health and health behaviours among the same cohort of undergraduate nursing students over the course of their degree. Methods An anonymous self-complete repeat cross-sectional survey was administered during a timetabled teaching session at three time-points to undergraduate nursing students at the start of Years 1, 2 and 3 of their programme. They had received written information about the study previously. Results Self-reported health did not change significantly over time, but there was a clear decline over the 3 years in the proportions of students rating their mental health as excellent/very good/good and a concomitant increase in those rating their mental health as fair/poor. Correspondingly, the mean WEMWBS wellbeing score declined over the 3 years, with the proportion of students with a score of < 46 (indicating either high risk of major depression, or in high risk of psychological distress and increased risk of depression) increasing from one quarter to one half. This effect was captured and described using a Bayesian regression analysis. The most noticeable change in health behaviours was a decline in physical activity levels over the study period. The proportion of students managing 150 min of weekly physical activity decreased from three quarters to two thirds. This was reflected in higher self-reported sedentary time, although there were no observable trends over time in mean BMI, or proportions of students categorised as overweight or obese. Conclusions This paper suggests that there may be a decline in mental health and in participation in physical activity among nursing students over the course of their degree. We recommend the incorporation of an intervention into the undergraduate nursing curriculum that promotes and encourages regular physical activity, offering students the opportunity to learn about health promotion and lifestyle change in practice, to improve their own physical health, and to address mental wellbeing.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does the self-reported health of undergraduate nursing students change during their degree programme? Survey results from a Scottish University

et al. 2021

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“…The prevalence of depression among nursing students in Arab states is reported to be 28% [ 4 ], approximately six times higher than the prevalence in the general population [ 16 , 17 ]. Moreover, nursing is a female-dominated profession [ 4 ] and evidence shows that female college students [ 18 – 20 ] are more susceptible to depression than their male counterparts [ 21 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived stress, stressors, and coping strategies among nursing students in the Middle East and North Africa: an overview of systematic reviews

et al. 2021

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Background In nursing students, high stress levels can lead to burnout, anxiety, and depression. Our objective is to characterize the epidemiology of perceived stress, stressors, and coping strategies among nursing students in the Middle East and North Africa region. Methods We conducted an overview of systematic reviews. We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, and grey literature sources between January 2008 and June 2020 with no language restrictions. We included any systematic review reporting measurable stress-related outcomes including stress prevalence, stressors, and stress coping strategies in nursing students residing in any of the 20 Middle East and North Africa countries. We also included additional primary studies identified through a hand search of the reference lists of relevant primary studies and systematic reviews. Results Seven systematic reviews and 42 primary studies with data from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan were identified. Most studies included nursing students undergoing clinical training. The prevalence range of low, moderate, and high perceived stress among nursing students was 0.8–65%, 5.9–84.5%, and 6.7–99.2%, respectively. Differences related to gender, training period, or the type of tool used to measure stress remain unclear given the wide variability in the reported prevalence measures across all stress levels. Common clinical training stressors were assignments, workload, and patient care. Academic training-related stressors included lack of break/leisure time, low grades, exams, and course load. Nursing students utilized problem focused (dealing with the problem), emotion focused (regulating the emotion), and dysfunctional (venting the emotions) stress coping mechanisms to alleviate their stress. Conclusions Available data does not allow the exploration of links between stress levels, stressors, and coping strategies. Limited country-specific prevalence data prevents comparability between countries. Reducing the number or intensity of stressors through curriculum revision and improving students’ coping response could contribute to the reduction of stress levels among students. Mentorship, counseling, and an environment conducive to clinical training are essential to minimize perceived stress, enhance learning, and productivity, and prevent burnout among nursing students.

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“…We used baseline measurements from the Nurse Engagement and Wellness Study (NEWS), which has been described in detail elsewhere [ 53 ]. In short, the NEWS consists of a prospective cohort of 517 women and men between 18 and 55 years of age enrolled during the first semester of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program at the University of Texas at El Paso.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations of Residential Brownness and Greenness with Fasting Glucose in Young Healthy Adults Living in the Desert

Álvarez

Browning

Neophytou

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Evolutionary psychology theories propose that contact with green, natural environments may benefit physical health, but little comparable evidence exists for brown, natural environments, such as the desert. In this study, we examined the association between “brownness” and “greenness” with fasting glucose among young residents of El Paso, Texas. We defined brownness as the surface not covered by vegetation or impervious land within Euclidian buffers around participants’ homes. Fasting glucose along with demographic and behavioral data were obtained from the Nurse Engagement and Wellness Study (n = 517). We found that residential proximity to brownness was not associated with fasting glucose when modeled independently. In contrast, we found that residential greenness was associated with decreased levels of fasting glucose, despite the relatively low levels of greenness within the predominantly desert environment of El Paso. A difference between the top and bottom greenness exposure quartiles within a 250 m buffer was associated with a 3.5 mg/dL decrease in fasting glucose levels (95% confidence interval: −6.2, −0.8). Our results suggest that within the understudied context of the desert, green vegetation may be health promoting to a degree that is similar to other, non-desert locations in the world that have higher baselines levels of green.

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Stress and Health in Nursing Students

Cited by 62 publications

References 69 publications

How does the self-reported health of undergraduate nursing students change during their degree programme? Survey results from a Scottish University

How does the self-reported health of undergraduate nursing students change during their degree programme? Survey results from a Scottish University

Perceived stress, stressors, and coping strategies among nursing students in the Middle East and North Africa: an overview of systematic reviews

Associations of Residential Brownness and Greenness with Fasting Glucose in Young Healthy Adults Living in the Desert

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