How to Cite
Abstract
Background: To compare the levels of stress
among undergraduate medical and non-medical
students studying in different educational
institutions of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, and
assess the difference in these stress levels between
the two groups.
Methods: In this cross-sectional comparative study,
a total of 120 students (including both male and
female) in each of the two groups were taken by
convenience sampling for questionnaire filling.
Non-medical students belonged to disciplines of
engineering, management science, computer science
and social sciences. Medical students were taken
from both government (Rawalpindi Medical
College) and private (Shifa College of Medicine,
Islamabad) medical colleges. The scale employed for
data collection was General Health Questionnaire
(GHQ) which has a score range from 0 to 28, with a
cut off value of 4.
Results: Among the 120 students taken in each
group, 89 medical students and 107 non-medical
students were found to be stressed. Also, the mean
scores on GHQ for medical students came out to be
8.58 and for the non-medical students 10.23.
Conclusion: The stress levels of undergraduate
non-medical students are higher than those of
undergraduate medical students in colleges and
universities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. There is a
need for appropriate measures to be taken by the
undergraduate non-medical students and the
institutions where they study, to ensure a decline in
the stress levels of these students, which is necessary
for their better functioning.
Key Words: Stress, Medical students, Non-medical
students.