Prevalence of depression among medical students in a private medical school: A cross-sectional study / The Health Sciences Journal

INTRODUCTION@#Medical students are susceptible to depression due to the constant exposure to stressful situations and almost 30% of medical students suffer from depression. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression among first- to third-year medical students in a private medical institution.@*METHODS@#A descriptive, cross-sectional study design was employed on first- to third-year medical students selected through simple random sampling. They were asked to answer the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for the assessment of depression. @*RESULTS@#The prevalence of moderate to severe depression was 19.1%. Almost 15% of the first-year medical students, 23.7% of the second-year medical students and 18.3% of the third-year students were found to have a risk of having depression. Twenty-one percent of the male students and 18.4% of the females were classified to have depression.@*CONCLUSION@#Almost one-fifth of the first- to third-year medical students in the private medical institution have depression. The highest prevalence of having depression was among second-year medical students, males, 20 to 22 years old.

A quasi-experimental study on the effect of a nursery rhyme on the comfort of infants after vaccination in selected barangay health centers in Quezon City / The Health Sciences Journal

INTRODUCTION@#Administration of parenteral medications may cause pain in infants. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a nursery rhyme in increasing the comfort of infants after vaccination.@*METHODS@#Infants who were brought to six barangay health centers for vaccination were recruited. Infants from three barangay health centers were randomly assigned to the experimental group, while infants from the other three were assigned to the control group. A Filipino nursery rhyme Tatlong Bibe was played to the experimental group. The comfort of each infant was then assessed by a pediatrician prior to, immediately after, and two minutes post-vaccination using the COMFORTB scale. Results were analyzed using independent t-tests.@*RESULTS@#Prior to vaccination, the control and experimental groups had mean COMFORT-B scores of 12.46 and 12.74 (p = 0.634), respectively. The immediate post-vaccination mean COMFORT-B scores were 22.14 and 21.63 (p = 0.420), while the 2 minutes post-vaccination mean COMFORT-B scores were 16.40 and 16.49 (p = 0.927), respectively. There were no significant differences between groups for the three determinations.@*CONCLUSION@#Based on the study results, the nursery rhyme had no significant effect on the comfort of infants after vaccination.

The efficacy of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) in decreasing blood sugar levels among patients with impaired fasting glucose in Antipolo City / The Health Sciences Journal

Introduction@#Previous studies have shown conflicting results on the efficacy of okra on lowering blood sugar levels. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of okra in decreasing blood sugar among patients with impaired fasting glucose.@*Methods @#This was a randomized double-blind trial among patients with impaired fasting blood glucose from three clinics in Antipolo City. Potential subjects were identified from records of the three clinics, recruited and screened using the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) and fasting blood sugar (FBS). Eligible patients were randomly assigned to receive okra or placebo capsules twice daily for one month. The blood sugar after 30 days was compared with the baseline and the difference between the okra and placebo groups was compared.@*Results @#There was a significant difference between the pre-treatment and post-treatment FBS levels, respectively, of both the okra and placebo groups (p-value <0.01). However, the difference between the mean difference of the okra and placebo groups was not significant (p = 0.06).@*Conclusion @#The present study showed that okra capsules are not efficacious in lowering blood sugar levels.

Experiences of first year medical students from their teachers beyond the grave / The Health Sciences Journal

Introduction@#Dissecting cadavers to study Human Anatomy is an integral part of first year medical education. The aim of this study was to describe the experiences of the first year medical students during their first day of cadaver dissection.@*Methods@#This study analyzed interviews of three first year medical students, chosen via purposive sampling, who were present during the first day of cadaver dissection in gross anatomy. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed through a Husserlian descriptive phenomenological approach.@*Results @#Five common themes were identified: 1) fear of the unknown, 2) group dynamics, 3) sense of awe and amazement of the cadaver's body, 4) respect for the body, and 5) taming of death as a rite of passage to being a doctor.@*Conclusion @#Of the five emergent themes, taming death as a rite of passage to being a doctor is the essence of the experiences of the first year medical students during the first day of cadaver dissection.