Frequency of depression, anxiety and stress among the undergraduate physiotherapy students

Objectives: To assess the frequency of Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DAS) among the undergraduate physiotherapy students.

Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in various Physiotherapy Institutes in Sindh, Pakistan among undergraduate physiotherapy students. The total duration of this study was 4 months from September, 2016 to January, 2017. Data was collected from 267 students with no physical and mental illness; more than half were female students 75.3%. They were selected through Non probability purposive sampling technique. A self-administered standardized DASS (depression, anxiety and stress scale) was used to collect data and result was analyzed using its severity rating index. Data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 21. Descriptive statistics including the frequency of depression, anxiety, stress and demographic characteristic of the participant was collected.

Results: The mean age of students was 19.3371±1.18839 years. The Frequency of depression, anxiety and stress found among undergraduates Physiotherapy students was 48.0%, 68.54% and 53.2%, respectively.

Conclusions: It was observed that the frequency of depression, anxiety and stress among physiotherapy undergraduates students were high. It suggests the urgent need of carrying out evidence based Psychological health promotion for undergraduate Physiotherapy students to control this growing problem.