TY - JOUR
T1 - Mental health, wellbeing and burnout among medical students in the United Arab Emirates
AU - Abdel Aziz, Karim
AU - Okasha, Tarek
AU - Bhugra, Dinesh
AU - Molodynski, Andrew
AU - AlKhyeli, Fatima
AU - AlNeyadi, Noura
AU - AlSheryani, Mahra
AU - Alyammahi, Shouq
AU - El-Gabry, Dina Aly
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.
PY - 2023/6
Y1 - 2023/6
N2 - Background: Medical students tend to experience high levels of stress during their studies, that can result in mental health disorders and burnout, further affecting academic performance and later ability to practice. Aims: To investigate previous and current mental health issues, significant sources of stress, burnout, and substance use among medical students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Method: We conducted an online survey to collect data on demographics, sources of stress, mental health problems, burnout, and substance use in 385 medical students from the UAE University. We used the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12), and the CAGE questionnaire. Results: Our results indicated that 5.7% of participants had been diagnosed with a mental health condition prior to joining medical school, and that 21.6% of participants were diagnosed with a mental illness while in medical school. On the OLBI, 77.4% screened positive for burnout (81.3% for disengagement and 95.1% for exhaustion), with 74.5% screening positive for mental health difficulties on the GHQ-12 and <1% screening positive on the CAGE for problem drinking. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between scores on the OLBI and the GHQ-12. Conclusions: Our study indicated that high levels of stress, burnout and mental illness are experienced among medical students in the UAE.
AB - Background: Medical students tend to experience high levels of stress during their studies, that can result in mental health disorders and burnout, further affecting academic performance and later ability to practice. Aims: To investigate previous and current mental health issues, significant sources of stress, burnout, and substance use among medical students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Method: We conducted an online survey to collect data on demographics, sources of stress, mental health problems, burnout, and substance use in 385 medical students from the UAE University. We used the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12), and the CAGE questionnaire. Results: Our results indicated that 5.7% of participants had been diagnosed with a mental health condition prior to joining medical school, and that 21.6% of participants were diagnosed with a mental illness while in medical school. On the OLBI, 77.4% screened positive for burnout (81.3% for disengagement and 95.1% for exhaustion), with 74.5% screening positive for mental health difficulties on the GHQ-12 and <1% screening positive on the CAGE for problem drinking. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between scores on the OLBI and the GHQ-12. Conclusions: Our study indicated that high levels of stress, burnout and mental illness are experienced among medical students in the UAE.
KW - Medical students
KW - United Arab Emirates (UAE)
KW - burnout
KW - mental health
KW - wellbeing
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U2 - 10.1177/00207640221148092
DO - 10.1177/00207640221148092
M3 - Article
C2 - 36645023
AN - SCOPUS:85146360592
SN - 0020-7640
VL - 69
SP - 985
EP - 993
JO - International Journal of Social Psychiatry
JF - International Journal of Social Psychiatry
IS - 4
ER -