Self-assessment of Mental Health Among Students of Iran University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Background and Objec ti ve: The students studying at the universi ti es of medical sciences deal with numerous stressors during their educa ti onal experiences in the healthcare se tti ngs, which lead to poor mental health status and low performance. Regarding the role of students in the provision, maintenance and promo ti on of community health, this study was aimed to determine the self-assessment of mental health among students of Iran University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: In this descrip ti ve-analy ti cal study, 300 students of the 8600 Iranian medical sciences students were randomly selected. The data collec ti on was performed using a demographic form and a researcher-made ques ti onnaire on self-assessment of mental health, validity and reliability of which were obtained. Data was analyzed by SPSS 16 using descrip ti ve index and analy ti cal tests at a signi fi cant level of 0.05. Results: The mean and standard devia ti on of self-assessment of students' mental health was 89.08±13.12. Also 14.7% of the students reported their mental health as poor, 70.3% as moderate and 15% as good. The mean age of the students was 25±6.21 years. The mean score of dimensions of ability to overcome anger and anger, the ability to balance the rest and ac ti vity and the ability to overcome anxiety were 3.1±0.08, 3.13±0.97 and 3.16±1.1 respec ti vely. Also, there was a signi fi cant rela ti onship between gender and hookah consump ti on with mental health (P<0.01 and P<0.009). Conclusion: Due to the low level of mental health in the dimensions of overcoming anger and anxiety and the student's role in securing and improving community health. The design of educa ti onal and promo ti onal interven ti ons to increase the anxiety management and anger management skills in the students is necessary to improve mental health of students.