Stressed and Depressed: Prevalence of Anxiety and/or Depression in Physician Assistant Students
- Davis E.M. ,
- Kauffman M.R. and
- Welborn K.E.
- Davis E.M. ,
- Kauffman M.R. and
- Welborn K.E.
2022
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Description
Background: Various aspects of anxiety and/or depression, such as rates of occurrence, factors influencing symptoms, as well treatment, has previously been researched. More specifically, research has been performed to investigate the mental health of students in a multitude of graduate programs, such as medical school and veterinary school. However, very little research has been performed to assess the mental health of graduate students in Physician Assistant (PA) programs in the US. Purpose: This research intends to illuminate the prevalence of anxiety and/or depression among PA students and determine if that prevalence is higher than that of the general population. It is hoped that this research provides evidence of the mental struggles faced by PA students and demonstrates how mentally taxing programs like these can be. In turn, it is thought that these findings might encourage graduate programs to place a stronger emphasis on the mental health of their students and create a more positive learning environment. Methods: An original survey was created selecting questions from the PHQ-9 and GAD-7, as well as several original questions. The survey was sent via a SurveyMonkey link to program directors of all accredited PA programs in the US. Program directors were then asked to distribute the survey to their students. The survey link remained open for 6 weeks, after which a cross-sectional analysis was performed by a South College statistician using Intellectus Statistics Software to compare the data to national data on anxiety and depression in the US. Results: There is a statistically significant difference in the rate of occurrence of anxiety and/or depression among PA students when compared to the general population. According to survey results, 84.4% of respondents experienced feelings of anxiety and 80.9% experienced feelings of depression while enrolled in PA school. PA students found the greatest need for treatment for v anxiety and depression to be during the didactic year of their program. Conclusion: The rate of anxiety and depression was found to be more prevalent in PA students than the general public. It was found that the rates of mild and moderate anxiety as well as mild, moderate, and severe depression were significantly higher in PA students when compared to the general population with a 65.3% difference. Similarly, when compared to the national population, the levels of depression in PA students were found to be 72.5% higher. Recommendations are for PA schools and healthcare providers to take action in developing plans to help current and future PA students better manage their mental health during PA school.
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Record Data:
- Program:
- Physician Assistant Studies
- Location:
- Knoxville
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