scholarly journals Second and third year medical students’ self-reported alcohol and substance use, smoking habits and academic performance at a South African medical school

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annelize Vorster ◽  
Anthonie M. Gerber ◽  
Lynette J. Van der Merwe ◽  
Sanet Van Zyl

Background: Health professional students frequently use alcohol and narcotics. The potential impact on academic performance and professional behaviour is concerning.Aim: This study aimed to determine self-reported use of alcohol, illicit substances (e.g. cannabis, lysergic acid diethylamide [LSD], magic mushroom, cocaine, crack, ecstasy, methamphetamine and heroin), prescription medication and smoking habits, correlating academic performance.Setting: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State.Methods: An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study design was used. Information was obtained using a self-administered questionnaire, capturing demographics, self-reported academic performance, drinking and smoking habits, and substance use. Coded responses were analysed using the Remark Office OMR 8 Software System. Descriptive statistics were calculated for categorical variables.Results: Completed questionnaires comprised 171 students. A total of 78.4% of second year and 82.8% of third year students reported using alcohol. Twenty-two per cent of second year and 24.1% of third year students reported cannabis use. In the second year group, three (2.7%) students reported using magic mushroom, two (1.8%) reported cocaine, two (1.8%) reported ecstasy and one (0.9%) reported using methamphetamine. Only third year students reported using LSD or ‘crack’. Cigarette smoking was common – 31.5% and 35.1% in both groups, respectively. Smokeless tobacco devices were used by 8.5% of second year and 7.1% of third year students. Almost 40% of both groups reported that they had smoked a water pipe. Academic performance achieved was mostly 60% – 69% (38.9%) among second year students and 70% – 79% (46.6%) among third year students.Conclusion: Self-reported use of alcohol and drugs and smoking among medical students is alarming. Additional student support, early identification and referral for management and/or rehabilitation should be a priority at tertiary institutions responsible for training future healthcare professionals.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kusum Gandhi ◽  
Yashvardhan Godaria ◽  
Revadi G

Background: Good quality sleep is essential for good health and well-being. Medical students are at no exception to this and are prone to greater risk for sleep deprivation. The major reason being challenges to maintain a high level of academic achievement and constant thirst to acquire new learning skills and knowledge. However, in this process they are circumstanced to various levels of stress that might cause potential damage to their cognitive functioning and mental exhaustion to a certain extent. Objectives: Thus, our study objectives were to evaluate the sleep pattern in first- and second-year medical students. To understand how the stress levels and academic performance are related to sleep pattern and to explore the copying strategies of stress in our study participants. Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted using a self-reported, web-based, questionnaire that included questions on sleep quality and deprivation through Pittsburgh sleep quality index. All the eligible students of first and second year who were part of a premiere teaching hospital during February and March 2021 were included. Data was analysed using IBM SPSS version 24. Results: Out of 180 participants, 91(50.55%) had their initiation of sleeping time from 12-2 am and also, majority of students 112 (62.22%) had a sleep duration of six to eight hours. However, 119 (66.1%) students had self-reported change in sleeping pattern which was found to be significantly associated with relatively greater number of academic factors as compared to social factors. Most of the students scored between 50-60% score in their four assessments amongst which their first assessment was significantly associated with change in sleep pattern (P 0.040). Also, these individual assessment score was found to significantly affect their duration of sleep. The common coping strategies adopted by students under study were talking to family members/ friends, music/ book reading (hobby). Conclusion: Majority of students in our study had reported change in sleeping pattern. Also, association between stress factors and change in sleeping pattern were observed with academic stress factors proving to be more significantly associated than social stress factors. The academic performance of students was also found to be associated with change in sleeping pattern and duration of sleep. Keywords: sleep pattern, medical students, academic stress factors, coping strategies


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 734-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georges Assaf ◽  
Samar Noureddine ◽  
Silva Kouyoumdjian ◽  
Jamil El Khoury

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harlina H Siraj ◽  
Salam A ◽  
Roslan R ◽  
Hasan NA ◽  
Jin TH ◽  
...  

Introduction: Student can be stressed due to different stressors such as academic, financial, health related or loss of close family member or friend, etc. Stress is the bodies’ reaction both neurologically and physiologically to adapt to the new condition. Stress has a negative effect on the academic performance of the students. This study was aimed to explore the stress and stressors and also to determine the association between stress levels and the academic performances in terms of cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of undergraduate medical students. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted among all 234 year-4 medical students of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), session 2011-2012. Sample size comprised of 179 students after fulfilling all inclusion and exclusion criteria. A validated Medical Students’ Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ) was used to collect the data. Stress level and its association with CGPA of semester-1 examination were analysed. Results: Response rate was 76.49%, where 72% were female and 69% resided in the hostel. Academic Related and Social-related Stressors caused for severe and high stress in 84% and 49% respondents respectively, with insignificant differences between gender and residency. Respondents with a high and severe stress level were observed to have higher CGPA. Conclusion: UKM medical students are highly resourceful to manage their stress well and thus denying the negative effect of stress towards their academic performance. Medical schools should train students exposing various personal and professional developmental activities that able to face the everyday challenges and manage stress well and thereby achieve better academic performance.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salih Boushra Hamza ◽  
Yassin A. Abdalla ◽  
Tibyan Hassan Mustafa Alkabashi ◽  
Ahmed A. M. Mustafa ◽  
Khadija Ala Abdelmaqsud Muhmmed ◽  
...  

Abstract Background:In general, the emergence of new technologies such as the internet, social networks and providing opportunities to facilitate and improve global communications quality have created some threats, as Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD), which is an emerging psychological problem across the globe. Young defined it as “an individual’s inability to control his or her use of the internet, which eventually causes psychological, social, school, and/or work difficulties in a person’s life”. Students are among the most critical internet and social networks, particularly during the coronavirus recent pandemic. The prevalence of internet addiction and its association with academic performance among Sudanese medical students has not been discussed yet. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effects of internet addiction on medical students’ academic performance. Methods:This study was an observational descriptive cross-sectional study conducted on medical students at Omdurman Islamic University in Sudan from 321 sample size by stratified random technique. Data were collected using a questionnaire that contains four sections; the last one is the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), a 20-item scale that measures the presence and severity of internet addiction, developed by Young. Data were analyzed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 24. A P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results:Out of 321 medical students, 186 (57.9%) were females, and 135 (42.1%) were males, with no general differences regarding the addiction score. Social media was the leading platform for internet use purposes (88%), mean internet addiction score was 47.7; most of the respondents (55.8%) fit into the moderate-level addiction. There is an association between the duration of internet time consumption and the IAT score, with 5-6 hour/day scoring the highest (mean 50.1 ± 14.3) (P-value 0.001). There is a significant association between platforms that consume most of the participant time and IAT score, with games scoring the highest (IAT mean 56.4 ± 15) (P-value 0.001). There is an insignificant negative correlation between Internet Addiction Test (IAT) grade and CGPA (p-value 0.07).Conclusion:The mean internet addiction score is 47.7, and most of the respondents (55.8%) show moderate-level addiction. The Internet Addiction Test’s application to medical students’ sample concerning the academic performance found no significant association between Internet Addiction Test score and CGPA score.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 252-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lochana Shrestha ◽  
Shambhu Nath Pant

Background: Students enter the medical study with different types of motives. Given the importance of academic motivation for good academic achievement of the students, the present study was designed to reveal the possible relationship between academic motivation and achievement in medical students.Methods: In this cross-sectional study medical students (N=364) of Nepalese Army institute of Health Sciences were participated and classified to different subgroups using intrinsic and controlled motivation scores. Cluster membership was used as an independent variable to assess differences in study strategies and academic performance. Results: Four clusters were obtained: High Intrinsic High Controlled, Low Intrinsic High Controlled, High Intrinsic Low Controlled, and Low Intrinsic Low Controlled. High Intrinsic High Controlled and High Intrinsic Low Controlled profile students constituted 36.1%, 22.6% of the population, respectively. No significant differences were observed as regards to deep strategy and surface strategy between high interest status motivated and high interest-motivated students. However, both of the clusters had significantly deeper, surface strategy and better academic performance than status-motivated and low-motivation clusters (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The interest status motivated and interest-motivated medical students were associated with good deep and surface study strategy and good academic performance. Low-motivation and status-motivated students were associated with the least academic performance with less interest learning behaviors. This reflected that motivation is important required component for good learning outcomes for medical student.


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed S BaHammam ◽  
Abdulrahman M Alaseem ◽  
Abdulmajeed A Alzakri ◽  
Aljohara S Almeneessier ◽  
Munir M Sharif

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shila Rani Das ◽  
Chinmay Biswas

Background: Medical students are in a huge pressure due to their academic syllabus. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to assess the relationship between anxiety and academic performance among private medical college.Methodology: This cross sectional study was done in private medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh and 3rd and 4th year medical student were included. Data was   collected by using semi structured Socio-demographic questionnaire and Burn Anxiety Inventory scale and Checklist. Finally all data and results were analyzed using latest version of SPSS software. For descriptive statistics means, medians, SD and range will be calculated as required. Data will be presented in frequency table, bar, pie and scattered diagram as per need.  Statistical test chi-square test were used and p<0.05 was consider to be statistically significant.Results: A total number of 200 medical students were studied after fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Among them 87.0% were Muslim; 98.0% were unmarried; 83.0% were in nuclear family; family member of 42.5% respondents had 4 to 6 persons; monthly income of 64.7% respondents were less than 50,000 Taka; 47.0% of the respondents’ father occupation was businessman. In 1st profession examination 68.0% in Anatomy, 73% in Physiology, 76% in Biochemistry were passed in anatomy. In 1st professional exam, students suffered from moderate to extreme anxiety were passed 78% and referred 22% as well as suffered from minimal to mild anxiety were passed 43% and referred 57% in Physiology. So there was strong association between the two variables (p<0.05).Conclusion: Three fifth of the students are suffered from moderate anxiety level and those who are suffered moderate to extreme anxiety passed more and their class attendance are good.Journal of Current and Advance Medical Research 2018;5(2):68-72


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