Prevalence of depression among health sciences students: Findings from a public university in Malaysia

Fata Nahas, Abdul Rahman and Elkalmi, Ramadan Mohamed Mahmod and Mohammed Ahmed, Abdul Kareem and Elsayed, Tarek Mohamed Ali (2019) Prevalence of depression among health sciences students: Findings from a public university in Malaysia. Journal of Pharmacy & Bioallied Sciences, 11 (2). pp. 170-175. ISSN 0976-4879 E-ISSN 0975-7406

	PDF - Published Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (15MB) | Request a copy
Preview	PDF (scopus) Download (111kB) | Preview

Abstract

Background: High rates of psychological problems including depression among university students have been reported in various studies around the world. The objectives of this study were to explore the prevalence of depressive disorder, as well as the associated sociodemographic factors (gender, origin, school, and year of study) among health sciences students. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 425 students from 5 different schools of health sciences at International Islamic University Malaysia, using the Patient Health Questionaire-9 (PHQ-9). Results: With a response rate of 85.9% (n = 365), the results showed a depressive disorder prevalence of 36.4%. The mean PHQ-9 score of the respondents was 8.10 (SD = 4.9), indicating mild depression severity. A statistically significant association was revealed between gender and severity of depression (P = 0.03), as well as between students’ origin and severity of depression (P = 0.02). Conclusion: The findings indicated high prevalence of depression among undergraduate health sciences students. While providing significant information to students’ affairs department, the study findings suggest the necessity to address depressive disorder in health sciences university students in Malaysia. Future research is needed to confirm these results in larger samples.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Additional Information:	7314/75857
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Cross-sectional study, depression prevalence, health sciences, university students
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA644.3 Chronic and Noninfectious Diseases and Public Health
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Pharmacy > Department of Pharmacy Practice
Depositing User:	Dr. Abdulkareem Mohammed Al-Shami
Date Deposited:	11 Nov 2019 17:23
Last Modified:	24 Nov 2019 21:32
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/75857

Actions (login required)

View Item