Perceived Stress Level and Associated Factors among Allied Health Science Undergraduates in University of Sri Jayewardenepura

Abstract

A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out to determine the level of stress and its associated factors among Allied Health Science undergraduates in University of Sri Jayewardenepura. A convenient sample of 150 Allied Health Science undergraduates who follow Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.Sc.N), Bachelor of Pharmacy (B. Pharm) and Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science (B.Sc. MLS) degree programmes were selected as the study sample. A self-administered questionnaire with both open ended and closeended questions was used as the research tool. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) developed by Cohen et al. (1994) was used to evaluate students’ perceived level of stress(PLS) during the last month. Irrespective of the year of study, B.Sc. Nursing undergraduates have scored higher level of perceived level of stress which is statistically significant in a chi-square test when comparing with B. Pharm and B.Sc. MLS undergraduates. Perceived level of stress had no significant association with sociodemographic factors including sex. Increased academic work load and financial difficulties were the prioritized factors associated with stress. The lack of personal freedom, conflicts with colleagues, unsupportive staff at the clinical placement and lack of support services were also reported as the other factors associated with the level of perceived stress among undergraduates.