Perception of academic stress in Health Sciences students from Maule, Chile

Abstract

Introduction: The perception of academic stress in students of health careers has repercussions at physical, emotional and psychological levels. Objective: Analyze the perception of academic stress among students of Health Sciences at a university in the Maule region of Chile. Methodology: Qualitative study, hermeneutic phenomenological approach by Max Van Manen, composed of 9 regular students of the Faculty of Health who had studied for at least 2 years; those who interrupted their studies and presented mental health pathology were excluded. Testimonies were analyzed by means of an in-depth individual interview, 9 topics were identified with their respective sub-topics, and the ethical aspects proposed by Ezekiel Emanuel were considered. Results: Their ages ranged from 20 to 23 years old and they lived in different cities in the Maule region. Topics and sub-topics were found such as academic stressors including evaluations and clinical practices; non-academic stressors including pandemic; physical symptoms including fatigue, hair loss; eating symptoms including weight variation; symptoms of mental health impairment including mood, sleep disorder; academic adaptation strategies including time management; support network including friends and family; poor habits including smoking; adaptation alternatives including sports and distraction. The participants agreed that the main causes of academic stress were the accumulation of evaluations and clinical practices, and they stated that they were able to adapt to the stress, in most cases in a positive manner. Conclusion: Stressful events were not only specific situations in the health area, but were related to evaluations, clinical practices, social outburst and pandemic, which were associated with the appearance of various physical symptoms.