Prevalence, academic and psychosocial risk factors of depression among clinical students in a private university in southwest, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Clinical students are often subjected to vigorous training, academic pressure, and exposure to patients’ suffering which may affect their psychological well-being.
Objective: To assess the prevalence of depression and associated academic and psychosocial risk factors among clinical students in a private university.
Design: This is a cross-sectional study
Setting: Two teaching hospitals used for training clinical students of a private university in Southwest, Nigeria. Participants: Two hundred and forty-two randomly selected students of departments of Medicine and Surgery, Nursing and Medical Laboratory Science undergoing their clinical rotation.
Main outcome measures: Zung self-rating depression scale was used to assess depression among the students. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. Prevalence was summarized in percentage and multiple binary logistic regression was used to assess the predictors of depression. Level of significance was set at p<0.05.
Results: The mean age of the student was 21.4±1.8 years and the prevalence of depression was 28.1%. Identified predictors of depression included students with loss of interest in school activities (AOR=2.563; 95%CI=1.201-5.484), those that repeated a class (AOR=5.535; 95%CI=1.477-20.740), those with traumatic childhood experiences (AOR=2.920; 95%CI=1.467-6.251), family history of depression in first degree relative (AOR=3.820; 95%CI=1.350-9.525), divorced parents (AOR=2.836; 95%CI=1.156-14.261), and experience of sexual or physical abuse (AOR=1.506; 95%CI=1.056-3.511).
Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of depression among the students, with associated academic and psychosocial risk factors. We therefore recommend screening for depression among high-risk students during their postings in the hospital so as to allow for early interventions.