Prevalence of psychological distress among health sciences students: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Afaf Saleh Almansoof (), Emad Masuadi (), Amani Al-Muallem () and Sajida Agha ()
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Afaf Saleh Almansoof: King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS)
Emad Masuadi: United Arab Emirates University
Amani Al-Muallem: King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS)
Sajida Agha: King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS)

Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, 2024, vol. 58, issue 4, No 30, 3747-3768

Abstract: Abstract Psychological distress (PD) is considered as an indicator of students’ psychological well-being status in epidemiological studies. The study objectives were to systematically review articles to estimate the pooled prevalence of PD among Health Sciences undergraduate and to assess the effect of study characteristics on the pooled PD prevalence. The protocol was developed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Different information sources included PUBMED, EMBASE, OVID, EBESCO (ERIC, CINIHAL, and PsycInfo), ISI, and Scopus were searched to identify peer-reviewed English-language studies published before September 2020 reporting different PD types including stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression among Health Sciences students. For each search term, related synonymous was used. In addition, study characteristics’ variables included academic years, regions, specialties, study years, gender, and PD types were specified. Prevalence estimates were pooled using random-effect meta-analysis and for studies characteristics effects the subgroup analysis and Meta regression were used with significance threshold of P 0.05). This systematic review and meta-analysis revealed a high prevalence of PD among Health Sciences undergraduate students. A significant association was found among gender, and PD types with the pooled prevalence. Protocol registration King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC Registration Number: SP/493/R) and International Prospective Register of Systematic Review (PROSPERO Registration Number: CRD42020223514).

Keywords: Prevalence; Health sciences students; Psychological distress; Wellbeing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s11135-024-01829-6

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