Depression and its effective factors among the students of Rafsanjan Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedical faculty- 2012

  Background and objectives : Depression is the most common mental disorder in all cultures. Most often, symptoms begin in adolescence and early youth. Students are in this age range and are there fore prone to depression. Considering the impact of disease on various aspects of life, present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of depression and its effective factors among the students of Rafsanjan Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedical faculty- 2012.   Material and methods : This descriptive study conducted on students of Rafsanjan University Midwifery and Paramedical faculty on 2012. The sampling method carried out through census. Two questionnaires were used for data collection. The first questionnaire assessed the demographic information (19 questions) and the second included Beck depression test (21 questions). Data were analyzed by SPSS software using descriptive and analytical statistics.   Results : Total number of students who were eligible and participated in the study was 400 (35.5% males). Of students 50.7% (203 students) were suffering from various degrees of depression. The prevalence of depression among Laboratory Sciences, Operating room, Radiology, Anesthesiology, Emergency medicine, Nursing and Midwifery students was 44%, 39.3%, 39.1%, 35.2%, 31.6%, 25% and 24%, respectively. Significant difference was found among the students' sex (p ≥ 0.008), mother's (p ≥ 0.002) and father's (p ≥ 0.000)) and parent's jobs (mother's education (p ≥ 0.000) and depression.   Conclusion : According to our findings, making a positive attitude towards continuing higher education and future career in students, especially male students, and teaching necessary skills to employee parents in reducing the severity of depression will have a great impact.