STRESS FACTORS AMONG NURSING STUDENTS AT BUHSC, KARACHI: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Background: Stress is a widespread and frequently overlooked issue for nursing students. It can impact academic achievement, performance in the clinical setting, and general welfare, thus offering difficulties in the students' personal and professional lives.

Objective: To identify the major stress factors among nursing students at Bahria University Health Sciences Campus (BUHSC), Karachi.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was done among undergraduate nursing students of BUHSC, Karachi. A minimum sample size of 183 students was calculated, and 186 students participated in the study via simple random sampling. A self-administered and structured questionnaire was used to collect data, which comprised demographic and stress-related factors and was analyzed using SPSS version 26.

Findings: The most salient stressors were those related to Exam stress (mean 3.57 ± 1.17), Headaches when stressed (3.31 ± 1.31), Anxiety about career (3.17 ± 1.48), Fear of making mistakes in patient care (3.11 ± 1.29), and Difficulty managing study (3.01 ± 1.17). The level of stress associated with lack of teacher support (2.44 ± 1.36) and family expectations (2.54 ± 1.50) was relatively low. The majority of participants chose 'sometimes' for most items, which suggested that stress was an often occurring aspect of student life.

Conclusion: The nursing students at BUHSC are confronted with multiple interrelated academic and clinical stressors which can impact upon the learning and wellbeing of nursing students. Nursing institutions need to be aware of students' stress and make an environment that is conducive to learning, counselling, and structured coping mechanisms.