Comparison of the psychological health of students at the higher institutes of nursing and health techniques: A Moroccan multicentre study.

Abstract

Mental health is essential to students' academic success as well as their ability to participate fully and meaningfully throughout all aspects of their lives and throughout their lifespan. This study aims to determine the psychological health status of Moroccan nursing and technique health students. In doing so, it also seeks to compare differences based on sociodemographic factors. A multicenter cross-sectional study with a convenience sample was conducted with 2,054 participants in the academic year of 2018/2019. A set of socio-demographic information were collected, and The General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) was used. The mean GHQ-12 score was 4.33 ± 2.61, and 58.7% respondents scored 4 and above in the GHQ-12 scores and thus were considered to be in psychological distress. Students' psychological distress was associated with female gender (60.4% for female compared to 52.4% for men, p = .003); living in parental residence (61.6% compared to 54.7% living away parental residence; p = .02 ), the second and the third training level year respectively (64.6%; 59.2%) compared to first-year (55.2%, p = .001), and midwifery and nursing students (61.6%; 60.3%) as compared to technique health students (43.6%, p = .001). It appears that a substantial number of students have psychological distress and this is likely to have negative effects on students' educational attainment and wider wellbeing.