Study of the Rate of Depression in the Pharmacy Students in the First Two Years of Study and the Factors Affecting It

Depression is one of the most important causes of pathogenesis and disability in individuals. Through the timely diagnosis of this disorder, it can be prevented from progressing, and finally, ensure the mental health of students and the community. The issues, such as non-familiarity with the university environment or culture of the area, being nonindigenous and away from family, lack of interest in the field of study, and incompatibility with other people, can result in mental illnesses, such as depression and a decline in the students’ academic performance. This study was performed to measure the rate of depression in the pharmacy students in the first two years of study and its influencing factors.

This longitudinal-descriptive study was done to measure the rate of depression in pharmacy students of the Ahvaz Jondishapur University of Medical Sciences from 2015 to 2017. To the end, the students first were evaluated using the Beck questionnaire, and then they answered the same questionnaire in 2017. The obtained data were evaluated using SPSS ر .21 software and the t-test.

In this study, 37 students were studied for two years. In the first year, the average score of depression was 6.21±7.02 and in the third year, it was 8.83±11.49. Despite an increase in the depression score, it was not in the depression range. Also, the results of the t-test showed that the students in the third year showed no significant difference compared with the first year of the university in terms of depression score (P=0.242).

Because of the high prevalence of depression in non-native students, the officials of this university have to pay more attention to the non-native students and adapt the dormitories environment appropriately for them. They also can provide cultural programs to change the students’ morale. In addition to these activities, holding workshops on psychology, proper training, and motivating students to pass lessons difficult to learn by university counselors can be effective in reducing the prevalence of depression.