Study of Depression among the Nursing Students in a University Medical College of Nepal

Nursing students pass through many stressful situations during their academic course. Depression is frequently observed in this student group. Objective To quantify and compare the level of depression among the students undertaking undergraduate and graduate level nursing education in Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Nepal. Method A questionnaire based cross-sectional study was carried out among all the students of Proficiency Certificate Level, Bachelor in Nursing Sciences and B.Sc. Nursing in Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, studying in different years during the academic year (2013-14) using Beck Depression Inventory. Descriptive statistics was used for computing scores of Beck Depression Inventory while Pearson correlation was used for analysis of association. Result Among the total 227 students consenting for the study, 212 were amenable for analysis. All of the participants were females, with mean age 20.10 (± 2.2). Almost 40% were found to be having depressive symptoms in variable degrees of severity (Mild-27.4%, Moderate-9%, Severe-1.4%). Frequency of depression was higher among the senior grade students. Agitation, fatigability and sadness were the items having highest mean score; (0.82 ± 0.72), (0.76 ± 0.63), and (0.74 ± 0.52) respectively, while weight loss and loss of libido had the least score, (0.10 ±0.33) and (0.19 ±0.55) respectively. Item on suicidal ideation was significantly correlated with age (p=0.038) and BDI score (< 0.001). Conclusion Depression is common among the nursing students in Nepal; which may also be related to the multitude of stressors they experience during their studentship.