Assessment of spiritual health and its relation with perceived stress among medical students. A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Lack of attention to the spiritual needs among medical student’s leads to increased stress, decreased hope and spiritual isolation. Objectives:Toassessthespiritualhealth and its relation with perceived stress among medical students.Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students by using self-administered questionnaire. Spiritual health was assessed by using Spiritual Health Assessment Scale (SHAS) and perceived stress was assessed by using Perceived stress scale (PSS). Results:A total of 430 students were included in the study of which 43.7% were male and 56.5% were females. The prevalence of low, moderate and high stress was 21.67%, 60.98%, 17.35% respectively. The prevalence of good, fair and poor spiritual health was 39.80%, 57.72%, 2.47% respectively. Conclusion: Majority of the students (60.98%) were having moderate stress and 57.72% were having fair spiritual health. There was significant association between perceived stress and spiritual health among medical students.