Assessing the Stress Level among Medical Students in Rwanda

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.