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mental health
literature review

Prevalence of stress disorders in frontline healthcare students

02 December 2022
Features
02 December 2022
Volume 14 · Issue 12

Abstract

Emerging evidence indicates that some healthcare students are developing stress disorders, due to factors relating to their chosen field of study. If accurate, this could have a major impact not only on those students, but also on the professions into which they are entering. To understand the extent of the problem, a literature review was conducted to identify the overall prevalence of stress disorders in healthcare students who are exposed to occupational stress/trauma, and/or course-related stress. Two databases were searched to include studies reporting on the presence of primary or secondary stress disorders in healthcare students. Six studies were reviewed, which included primary outcomes of depression, anxiety and stress. The pooled prevalence of primary outcomes was 41.4%. Pooled prevalence of depression was 49.58%, anxiety 54.55% and stress 20.2%. High prevalence figures suggest the need for adequate provision of mental health resources.

Stress disorders are conditions preceded and/or triggered by trauma or other life stressors (Song et al, 2019). They can be categorised into primary, which result from direct experience, and secondary, which result from direct or indirect experience over time (Figley Institute, 2012). Each category includes a range of disorders, with primary conditions including acute stress, acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and secondary conditions including secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue. Related disorders include anxiety, generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and depression. Although there are different criteria for diagnoses (First et al, 2021), symptoms can overlap and causes may be similar.

There are many risk factors known to increase an individual's susceptibility to stress disorders, including genetic and biological factors (Amstadter et al, 2017), personal attributes and traits (Ogińska-Bulik et al, 2021) and specific life events, as recognised by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5) (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

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Stress
Healthcare students
Prevalence
Literature review