Perceived stress, triggering factors and coping strategies among first year MBBS students: a case Of Rehman Medical College Peshawar, Pakistan

Introduction: Every individual experiences some type of stress, but life of a medical student is relatively more stressful. Rehman Medical College adapted to the integrated modular system in order to expose its students to clinical environment right from the first year, hence adding more to an already stressful environment. This study aimed to evaluate stress levels, triggering factors and coping strategies among first year MBBS students at Rehman Medical College Peshawar, Pakistan

Material and Methods: It was a cross-sectional survey based on self-administered questionnaire, where Perceived Stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale [PSS-14]. A total number of 47 medical undergraduates from the first year MBBS participated in the study. SPSS version 15 was used for data analysis

Result: Ninety percent of students reported some level of stress; 14 [30%] were in very much stressful condition with significant difference among male and female students [p=0.004]. The major triggering factors among students were difficulty in coping with integrated curriculum, frequent examinations, environment of institute and economical support. Ignoring the stress, going to sleep, indulging in games and sharing of problems were the main coping strategies adopted by the students for managing their stress levels

Conclusion: Stress among medical students was frequent, triggered by high parental expectations, difficulty in coping with modular curriculum, frequent examinations, institutional environment and worries of economic support. Ignoring the stress, going to sleep, indulging in games, sharing the problem with relatives or friends were the major coping strategies

Evaluation of knowledge, attitude and practice of self-medication among selected medical and non-medical students of Peshawar, Pakistan

Introduction: Self-medication is a part of self-care and is a primary source of public health in a health care system. In Pakistan it is a common practice as a majority of population is underprivileged, economically unstable and medicines are freely available as and when desired. Self-medication is intended for quick relief in common illnesses with a resultant benefit of economy, convenience and saving on time. However, self-medication should not be taken lightly as it involves serious health risks

Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from June-August 2014 based on convenience sampling of 200 undergraduate medical and non-medical students from Rehman Medical College and University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, respectively. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data which were analyzed using SPSS v. 22. Comparisons were done using Chi Square test, keeping p= 0.05

Results: 185 students participated [age 22.5 +/- 2.6 years; Male: Female ratio 2.36:1] in the study. The practice of self-medication among students was 93% [n=172] of which 92 were medical students and 80 were non-medical students. "Previous experience with similar symptoms" [50.8%] and "convenience" [27.6%] were common factors for self-medication. The commonest indications for self-medication were "cough/sore throat" [61.1%], "runny nose/nasal congestion" [56.8%] and "fever" [56.29%]. Analgesics [71.4%], antibiotics [62.2%] and anti-allergic [48.1%] drugs were the most common types of self-medication used. Selection of medicine was based on "friends and family's opinion" [40%] and "previous experience" [34.1%]. Participants showed positive attitude towards self-medication; however 32.4% considered it as not an acceptable practice. There was no significant difference between self-medication practice between medical and non-medical students [p=0.34]

Conclusion: Only justifiable rationale for self-medication would be 'urgency of the problem' but amongst our participants this was not the most popular reason. Students of health profession are under the influence of self-medication at the same rate as that of non-health profession. To prevent the growing trend of self-medication, strong policies should be applied prohibiting the supply of medicines and promoting education regarding the implications of self-medication