Status of self-esteem in medical students at a college in Kathmandu: A descriptive cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Background:Self-esteem is vital to livingahappy, confident and content life. Medical students experience various forms of stress due to academic, financial and social pressureswhich could affect their levelsof self-esteem. This study aims to study the status of self-esteem among undergraduates of a medical collegeatTribhuvan University, Nepal. Methods:After receiving the ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee (IRC) of NAIHS; we conductedadescriptivecross-sectionalstudy among the first-to fifth-year medical students from December 2020 to April 2021. 190 were selected for the study usingastratified random sampling technique. This study used the Rosenbergself-esteem scale to measure self-esteem of the participants.AGoogle Formsquestionnairewas sentto the participants via email. Then, the data obtained were entered in the Google sheet and later analyzed using SPSS 27.AChi-square test was used toidentify potentialdifferences in self-esteem scoresamong different variables. A p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results:This study included a total of 180 participants, among which, 18.9% (13.19% to 24.61%; at 95% CI) students showed low self -esteem. 74.4% (68.02% to 80.78%; at 95% CI) students had normal self-esteem and 6.7% (3.05% to 10.35%; at 95% CI) students had high self-esteem. The mean self-esteem score was 19.19 (15.01 to 23.37; at 95% CI). Female participants suffered more than malesfrom low self-esteem, and third-year students had the highest percentage of low self-esteem (30.77%). Conclusion:The majority (74.4%) of medical students had normal self-esteem. However, 18.9% students had low self-esteem, among which, third-year students suffered the most (30.77%). Likewise,females exhibited higher prevalence of low self-esteem compared to males. Interventions to boost the level of self-esteem should be carried out to helpmedical studentsbecome confident and efficient doctors.