TITLE:
Assessing the Stress Level among Medical Students in Rwanda
AUTHORS:
Liberee Kubwimana, Gislaine Mutatsineza, Lara Tesi, Rex Wong
KEYWORDS:
Medical Student Stress, SALS, Mental Health, Rwanda
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Psychiatry,
Vol.12 No.2,
April
22,
2022
ABSTRACT: Purpose: Many medical students suffered from some levels of emotional disturbances
or disorders, causing negative physical and mental health problems, affecting
performance academically, professionally, and personally. This study was
conducted to assess the stress among medical students in Rwanda, in order to
design appropriate strategies to address or prevent any related potential negative
consequences. Method: Medical students who were enrolled in the two
medical schools in Rwanda completed an online survey that was developed based
on the Stress in Academic Life Scale (SALS). The SALS has 27 4-point Likert
scale questions assessing stress related to social support, motivation,
curriculum and teaching, academic ambition, self-confidence, performance
anxiety, and career. One open-ended question was also included for respondents’
comments. The SALS scores were categorized into “no to fairly”, “fairly to very” and “very to severely” stress levels. Results: A
total of 137 samples responded. The
overall median SAL score was 1.22, with over 54% of the respondents reported
experiencing fairly to severe levels of stress. The highest stress levels were related to Curriculum
and Teaching (median = 1.5),
Self-confidence (median = 1.33), and Motivation (median = 1.33). The stress
score was found to be negatively correlated to age (r = -0.205, P = 0.02), and the number of
years in the program (r = -0.218, P = 0.01),
and associated with receiving government funding (P = 0.01).
Lack of financial support, lack of support from instructors, and disorganized
academic activities were also reported as sources of stress. Conclusion: The
results of this study suggested mild to moderate levels of stress were faced by
the medical students in Rwanda. Finance plays a role, but the main stressors
stemmed from the curriculum, teaching, and administrative organization. Medical
schools should proactively create appropriate interventions to improve
students’ physical and psychological well-being and provide mental health
services in schools.