Study-related stress, perceived stress and quality of life among healthcare university students

Background: Many studies have shown that the stress level among healthcare university students is often as high as in workers who experience burnout. Our study investigated if it is possible to observe the burnout syndrome in these kind of students, able to significantly alter the quality of life, their approach to daily activities and relationship life.

Methods: The study was conducted through the administration of an anonymous questionnaire, distributed online through messaging apps, during the breaks between lessons. It was formulated using the perceived stress scale (PSS) in its short formula in order to evaluate feelings and thoughts and the WHOQOL-AGE, in order to evaluate the quality of life.

Results: The sample consisted of 292 university students aged between 18 and 49, with an average age of 22,42 ± 4,65. 16.4% does not often feel able to control the important things in life, 42.8% is often unable to manage personal problems. The PSS score of all our university students showed a high stress level in 6.2%, an average stress level in 57.2% and low stress level in 36.6%. The WHOQOL score shows that 42% had a high quality of life and only 4% had a poor quality of life, 54% had an intermediate quality of life and half of the sample was unsatisfied with the way he felt every day.

Conclusions: Many students (63.4%) are subjected to stress study-related, even if does not affect their quality of live, therefore not perceiving it as negative. There is a gender difference: females have a higher level of stress than men. Two thirds of the sample has an average or high stress level; only a third has a low grade. Stress prevention in young university students must begin through a new way of teaching, even if a certain amount of stress study-related is stimulant.