Prevalence of depression and anxiety, and attitudes toward seeking help among first-year pharmacy, medical, and nursing students at a Nigerian university.

INTRODUCTION

The first year of university study tends to be particularly challenging and exhausting, especially for students in health sciences. This study aimed to explore the prevalence of anxiety and depression among first-year pharmacy, medicine, and nursing students at a Nigerian university as well as their attitudes toward seeking professional support.

METHODS

This study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey among all first-year pharmacy, medicine, and nursing students. Paper-based self-administered questionnaires were used, and they included the Patient Health Questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, and Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and Pearson correlation were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

The study included 522 students (89% response rate). The prevalence of depression among participants was 71.8%, while the prevalence of anxiety was 61.7%. Only 24.9% of the participants expressed willingness to seek professional psychological help. Attitudes toward getting professional care was inversely related to the prevalence of depression (r = -0.155, P = .01) and anxiety (r = -0.098, P = .05). Age, smoking, alcohol intake, and dietary habits were associated with the occurrence of depression and anxiety. No demographic variables were related to the participants' attitudes toward seeking professional care.

CONCLUSIONS

Depression and anxiety symptoms were very common among health science freshmen. However, the vast majority of students were unwilling to seek help. Students' attitudes toward seeking treatment are influenced by the prevalence of depression and anxiety. Therefore, educational interventions on mental health promotion are recommended.