Far Eastern University

Institute of Arts and Sciences

Factors that Determine the Occurrence of Depression Among the First Year Medical

Technology Students of Far Eastern University

Garcia, Krishna G.

Manalo, Micaela C.

Nora, Jamela Lara U.

Ocampo, Lance Justine

Ramos, Jacob Neal

Tungpalan, Redson Zaire L.

July 2019
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction……………………………………………

Review of Related Literature ………………………

Method ………………………………………………

Results……………………………

Discussion …………………………………………………

Conclusion …………………………………………………

Limitation of the Findings …………………………………………………

Recommendation ……………………………………….

References ……………………………………

Appendix

Survey Questionnaire ……………………………….

INTRODUCTION

The World Health Organization (WHO, 2018) defined depression as a “common

mental disorder common mental disorder, characterized by persistent sadness and a

loss of interest in activities that you normally enjoy, accompanied by an inability to carry

out daily activities, for at least two weeks.” Recently, University college in Manila has

experiencing a depression and anxiety among the students. During college, students

experience many firsts, including a new lifestyle, friends, roommates, exposure to a new

culture and experiences. Students may struggle if they can't manage these firsts. If

students aren't prepared to cope, they can become easily susceptible to depression and

anxiety. (Cusumano, 2018).

Depression is a medical condition that can affect a student's ability to work,

study, interact with peers, or take care of themselves. Medical students had higher

depression rates than the general population, and women students had higher rates

than men. It became normal to the medical students to experience a depression

because of the challenges, pressures and anxieties that can cause them to feel

overwhelmed.

However, despite the healthy steps and the medications that the doctor gives,

depression and anxiety have become increasingly prevalent in today’s college students,
with many stating these mental health issues are their biggest barriers to doing well in

school.

It is defined by (WHO) that depression is the utmost concern in the 21st century.

Over 4.5 million cases of depression were reported in the Philippines, stated by the

Department of Health (DOH), but that number is very likely to be much higher as years

go by since many of those who are suffering from depression hesitate to seek help

because of the stigma still surrounding mental disorders.“Yung depression na yan,

gawa-gawa lang ng mga tao yan. Gawa lang ng saili nila yan.” Filipinos nowadays,

often hear that from the people around them causing them to just keep their feelings to

themselves instead of seeking for help from professionals and later, causing them to

suffer from more effects of depression in their daily lives.

Most people do not often notice the symptoms of depression and tend to belittle

the behaviors of people suffering depression, most of the time, the person with

depression does not even know that he is suffering depression in the first place. People

tend to judge or misunderstand symptoms like losing interest in things they used to

enjoy and call them “lazy” and disregard the tendency of these symptoms to be effects

of depression.

There are many factors that can trigger an individual to become mentally

depressed especially now that technology and mindsets have changed. The individual

could have an unhealthy environment at home or even at school. Family and personal

issues have been known to be the most common factor of depression. The individual’s

peers also have a great effect to how one feels and how one is treated. Stress and

trauma are also major triggers for depression. Symptoms of depression include
overwhelming sadness, grief, and a sense of guilt. It may be described as a feeling of

emptiness or hopelessness. Some people may find it difficult to put these feelings into

words. It may also be difficult for them to understand as symptoms can manifest and

cause physical reactions.

OBJECTIVES

1. To Identify the major factors of an individual’s life that cause them to have

depressive moods or behaviors.

2. To spread knowledge about depression in order to help prevent individuals

experience depressive moods.

3. To determine how often an individual shows symptoms of depression and how to

prevent them from feeling that way.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

To the students-

This research is important for students, specifically the first-year medical

technology students of Far Eastern University because it will help them identify the

factors that cause their depressive moods or behavior and help them cope with these

symptoms which will then lead to better grades and healthier relationships towards their

fellow classmates and peers.

To the teachers-

This research may help the teachers identify their students who show depressive

symptoms, so that they can help the student cope and make their environment more

appropriate for the student(s) suffering depression.

To the school-

This research will help the school create a better learning environment which will

then lead to better standings also.

To the parents-

This research will give awareness to the parents with children suffering

depression, it will give them more knowledge about depression and explain why their

children are behaving ways they are not familiar of. This will help them further

understand their children and become more open to their children’s feelings.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Natural History of Depression

Cesar and Chavoushi’s (2013) paper points out that depression generally begins

with recurrences in early adulthood. It occurs more often to women than to men, as well

as unemployed individuals which are at high risk too. Sadness, indifference or apathy or

irritability may characterize an episode. It is normally associated with changes in a

number of neurovegetative activities (such as sleep patterns, appetite and weight, motor

agitation or retardation, exhaustion, restricted concentration and decision-making) as well

as emotions of shame or guilt and ideas of death or dying. Psychotic symptoms will

manifest in a low percentage of patients. A crisis that has not been treated usually ranges

from nine months to several years. Roughly eight out of ten individuals will continue to

experience an early episode of major depressive disorder during their lifetime to have at

least one further episode. Around 10 to 15 percent will have later a manic episode, by

which point the patient will be reclassified as having a bipolar disorder.

Furthermore, the nature of depression is that it is hardly for affected people to

become conscious of the occurrence of illness among them and therefore unlikely to seek

assistance for their own. They are also less able to take their therapy properly as directed

by health care professionals. The concurrence of depression in all chronic conditions has

a major impact on the quality of care given by patients themselves and received by others.

Depression Signs and Symptoms

Keith’s (2010) study illustrates that there are several common indications that shows the

characteristic of those who go through with depression. The main symptoms that will

deliberately influence a college student’s social and academic pursuits are the sudden

changes in mood or in motivation, and in the lessen concentration. Those who are

suffering from depression endure more serious feelings of irritability and sadness that can

differentiate simply from a normal session of unhappiness. Some define their experience

as emptiness and mental tiredness. It was also have been reported by sufferers of

depression that they are experiencing an inescapable sense of hopelessness with a grim

outlook for the future. While many college students are often keen to enjoy the company

of their friends and the social events, the lost of interest to these prevailing activities may

lead to depression. In addition, a Canadian study have reported that a research has

continuously discovered depression-related personality traits including lack of assurance,

dysfunctional attitudes, external control location, and decreased male sex-role

orientation.

Moreover, sleep also plays an important role in depression. Some can also

experience insomnia where a person has the inability to fall asleep immediately or to

remain asleep at night. Sleep disturbances can directly cause physical problems such as

excessive fatigue level and drop off energy level, making easy activities like attending

class an impossible ordeal.

Furthermore, with a depressive state, guilt and a diminished sense of self-worth

are also often addressed. Difficulty with fundamental memorization and failure to focus

leads to a decrease in abilities such as time management and is not conducive to college

life requirements.
Prevalence of Depression among Medical Students

According to Moir, Yielder, Sanson, & Yen (2018) during the academic and clinical study

of the medical students, it is shown that they are exposed to numerous factors that have

been served as contributors to their high level of depression, stress, and anxiety. It is

widely seen that the fact of University students are handling multiple stressors, which are

mainly provided by the environment of the University and its nature when it comes to the

level of difficulty in workload, is undeniable. Those multiple stressors includes the

educational demands, time pressure, and social changes, and specifically in medical

students may face extra difficulties such as vast amount of workload, amount of tests,

and time dedication, as well as the clinical environment pressures. A prior meta-analysis

showed that depression influences around one third of medical students nationwide, and

the overall incidence of depressive symptoms among medical students is also likely to be

greater than the observed in the general population. It was also shown that aside from

the depressive symptoms that the students are experiencing, it also includes other

psychological problems such as anxiety, burnout, suicidal thoughts, and abuse of

substances.

On the other hand, it is also shown that students are capable of learning an active

strategy to which they can use of dealing with stress; it will act as a buffer to modulate

their perceived stress levels. This is significant because students with reduced stress

volumes are less likely to indulge with suicidal thinking. But a latest research showed that

students are more likely to participate with active coping by their final year of medical

school than they were in their preceding years. Although it is difficult to determine whether

students are learning these abilities as they move forward prior to their medical school
experiences, their training, or just a merely maturation, there is a proof that indicates that

junior medical students are more at stake for suicidal thoughts.

Prevalence and factors associated with depression among medical students

According to Ngasa, Sama and Dzekem (2017) Depression is an important contributor to

the global burden disease that affects people of communities all over the world. With high

level of demands in academics and psychosocial pressure, medical students during their

course of training tend to become depressed, leading to problems later in professional

life and compromising patient care. It is a mental disorder characterized by loss of interest

and pleasure (anhedonia), decreased energy (energy), feelings of guilt or low self-worth,

disturbed sleep and/or appetite, and poor concentration. It often starts at a young age

and often are recurrent throughout life. For these reasons, depression is the leading

cause of disability worldwide in terms of total years lost due to disability.

The potential negative effects of emotional distress on medical students include

impairment of functioning in classroom and clinical practice, stress-induced disorders and

deteriorating performance. In medical doctors, it has been demonstrated that depression

affects patient care leading to increase prescription error. Depression is also associated

with higher suicide rates and this may be reason for higher suicide rate in medical

professionals than the general population. This is especially true in female medical

professionals. Students in extreme stress or depression need serious attention, otherwise

inability to cope successfully with the enormous stress of education may lead to a cascade

of consequences at both personal and professional levels. To prevent depressive

symptoms among medical students, decreased self-esteem, self-perceived medical

errors and thus improve on the quality of care given to patients, factors associated with

depression in medical training should be identified and appropriately tackled.

Prevalence of Anxiety and Depression among Medical Students

According to Tabalipa, de Souza & Fuganti (2015) Difficulties encountered by

medical students may affect their mental health. Constant exposure to stressful situations,

such as pressure from parents, fear of failure and the labor market challenges are factors

associated with increasing susceptibility to different kinds of emotional outbreaks. It is

estimated that 15% to 25% of medical students show some kinds of psychiatric distress

during their education, especially during medical training. Medical school is traditionally

recognized as one of the most laborious, often by becoming a hostile environment of

requirements which have ultimately a negative impact on the student’s academic

performance, physical health and psychosocial well-being. These negative impacts can

contribute to the relatively high numbers of psychiatric disorder cases, especially

depression and anxiety, among medical students.

Depression and anxiety affect students both professionally and personally.

Personal consequences include termination of relationships, substance abuse, health

deterioration and decline in physical vigor. Professional consequences include academic

performance decay, decline in empathy and ethics, academic dishonesty, negative

influence on their choice of specialty and high incidence of medical errors. Medical

students are at high risk of developing depression and anxiety disorders, which can reach

levels of severity sufficient enough to bring important consequences to emotional, mental

and physical well-being.

REFERENCES

Cesar, J., Chavoushi, F. (2013). Update on2004 Background Paper, BP6.15 Depression.

Retrieved from https://www.who.int/medicines/areas/priority_medicines/BP6_15Depression.pdf

Keith, T. (2010). Depression and its Negative Effects on College Students. Retrieved from

https://www.kon.org/urc/v9/keith.html

Moir, F., Yielder, J., Sanson, J., & Chen, Y. (2018). Depression in medical students:

current insights. Advances in medical education and practice, 9, 323–333.

doi:10.2147/AMEP.S137384

Ngasa, S. N., Sama, C., Dzekem, B. S., (2017, June 09). Prevalence and factors

associated with depression among medical students. Retrieved from

https://www.nccbi.nlmn.niih.gov/pmcd/articles/PMC54667797/

Tabalipa, Oliveira, F. D., Souza, Fuganti, M., (n.d.). Prevalence of Anxiety and

Depression among Medical Students. Retrieved from

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-55022015000300388