Stress and Anxiety among Junior Nursing Students during the Initial Clinical Training: A Descriptive Study at College of Health Sciences, University of Bahrain

Background: Anxiety and stress among nursing students are challenge for academic education and a need exists to explore the factors that contribute to such phenomena among Arab culture. Objective: To assess the anxiety and stress levels among junior nursing students at College of Health Sciences (CHS), University of Bahrain (UoB) during their initial clinical exposure. Material and Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was employed to gather data on perceived stress (5 points likert scale), perceived anxiety (4 points likert scale) and socio-demographic characteristics from 93 second year nursing students at CHS (a response rate of 77.5%). The total scores for each item were summed and average scores were calculated accordingly. Both univariate and multivariate analyses were undertaken in order to identify significant factors that influence anxiety and /or stress levels among students. The p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: About four-fifth of the respondents were female students. Most students had normal levels of anxiety while two-third reported moderate stress level. Female gender was the only significant factor that is related to stress in univariate as well as multivariate analyses. Conclusion: Nursing students at CHS had moderate stress level which would have a negative effect on the quality of their education and clinical practice. Further studies are needed to explore effective strategies to deal with anxiety and stress among junior and senior students.