Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate psychological well-being and substance abuse among medical students in Pakistan.MethodsA cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted in six medical colleges across Pakistan. Final-year medical students were interviewed by either a postgraduate trainee in psychiatry or a consultant psychiatrist.ResultsA total of 540 medical students were approached; 342 participated and the response rate was 64.5%. Mean age was 23.73 years (SD 2.45 years); 52.5% were male and 90% single. Two out of every five respondents reported that work/study at medical school affected their personal health and well-being. A considerable proportion of students were aware of alcohol and smoking as coping strategies for stress in medical students. The main factors causing stress were heavy workload (47.4%), relationship with colleagues (13.5%) and staff (11.9%). A total of 30% reported a history of depression and 15% among them had used an antidepressant. More than half were aware of depression in colleagues. The majority of respondents said that teaching provided on substance misuse in the areas of alcohol and illegal drugs, management/treatment of addiction, and models of addiction was poor. There was significant association (p = 0.044) between stress and awareness about alcohol as a coping strategy for stress among medical students. A significant negative association was also found between medical colleges in public sector (p = 0.052), female gender (p = 0.003) and well-being.ConclusionThe majority of the medical students reported a negative impact of heavy workload on their psychological well-being. Significant numbers of medical students think that substance misuse is a coping strategy for stress. Teaching on addiction/addictive substances is poor at undergraduate level in Pakistani medical colleges.

Highlights

  • Medicine has been a gratifying profession and held in high esteem since dawn of the history

  • Studies conducted in medical schools in the US and UK show a negative impact on student's physical and mental health [1,2,3]

  • Our study looks at the wellbeing of medical students and their awareness on substance misuse, capturing data from six medical colleges across all the provinces of Pakistan

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Summary

Introduction

Medicine has been a gratifying profession and held in high esteem since dawn of the history. It requires commitment, enthusiasm and altruism, but physicians are expected to show care, compassion and a dedication to their profession. Few studies have looked at stress related to medical education. Studies conducted in medical schools in the US and UK show a negative impact on student's physical and mental health [1,2,3]. The research highlights worsening distress and this can lead to impairment in academic performance, mental health problems and burnout

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