Prevalence of depression, anxiety and burnout in medical students at the University of Namibia

• Published in: The South African journal of psychiatry Vol. 29; no. 1; p. 2044
• Main Authors: Mhata, Nelao T., Ntlantsana, Vuyokazi, Tomita, Andrew M., Mwambene, Kissah, Saloojee, Shamima
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: South Africa AOSIS 2023; African Online Scientific Information Systems (Pty) Ltd t/a AOSIS
• Subjects: Anxiety; Burn out (Psychology); Burnout; Depression; Depression, Mental; Health aspects; Medical students; Namibia; Psychological aspects; Review; Risk factors; Statistics; Namibia; anxiety; depression; burnout; medical students; Namibia
• ISSN: 1608-9685; 2078-6786
• DOI: 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v29i0.2044

Background There is an increased prevalence of depression, anxiety, and burnout among medical students worldwide with no information from Namibia.Aim This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with depression, anxiety, and burnout among medical students at the University of Namibia (UNAM).Methods A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted utilising a specially designed questionnaire for the study and standardised instruments to evaluate depression, anxiety, and burnout.Results Of the 229 students in this study, 71.6% were female and 28.4% were male. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and burnout was 43.6%, 30.6%, and 36.2%, respectively. The prevalence of emotional exhaustion (EX), cynicism (CY), and professional efficacy (EF) was 68.1% (n = 156), 77.3% (n = 177) and 53.3% (n = 122), respectively. In the final regression model, participants with a current psychiatric illness were more likely to screen positive for depression (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.06, confidence interval [CI] 1.28–12.91; p = 0.02) and anxiety (aOR: 3.63, CI: 1.17–11.23; p = 0.03). Emotional exhaustion and cynicism were significantly associated with female gender (EX: aOR, 0.40, CI: 0.20–0.79; p = 0.01) (CY: aOR, 0.42, CI: 0.20–0.91; p = 0.03).Conclusion More than one in three medical students at the UNAM were either depressed or burnt out.Contribution This is the first study to highlight the mental health needs of medical students at the University of Namibia.