Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Among Nursing Students: Basis for an Intervention Program

ABSTRACT

Nursing school is challenging and overwhelming. It has been well-documented that nursing students worldwide experience stress, anxiety, and depression throughout their formal education and clinical training. The main objectives of the present study were to determine the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression among nursing students in General Santos Doctors' Medical School Foundation, Inc. and to develop an intervention program based on the results of the study. A descriptive survey research design was conducted among a randomized sample of 163 nursing students in General Santos Doctors' Medical School Foundation, Inc. from March to April 2021. Data collection was performed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-42). Out of 163 identified randomized samples, 146 nursing students participated in the study; most of them were within the 17–20 year old age bracket and in their first year. Furthermore, the majority of the respondents experienced stress, anxiety, and depression, which ranged from mild to extremely severe levels. Results also showed that among the three psychological health issues, anxiety was the most prevalent. The Counselor CARES (Caring About Restoring Students' Well-being) intervention program, a CBT-based intervention program, has been developed to address the mental health problems of students, specifically stress, anxiety, and depression.