Factors influencing mental health issues among undergraduate nursing students

Background: Nursing school is basically a crash course on medical school. It can take anywhere from sixteen months to four years to become a registered nurse. Nursing undergraduate students around the world are subjected to exhaustive clinical rotations, rigorous courses, and career pressures. Stress factors of nursing school can erode mental health among nursing students causing depression, general anxiety, and stress. Purpose: This study aimed at determining the factors that impact undergraduate nursing students’ mental health. Methods: PRISMA was utilized to report the literatures reviewed and the John Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice Tools were used to appraise evidences to determine the factors that affect mental health of the nursing students. Results: Factors which induced high levels of stress included: fear of failure on exams, course rigor, and satisfaction of career pathway. A factor that was related to a higher prevalence of depression was suboptimal sleep patterns. A factor relating to higher levels of anxiety was undergraduate students with lower GPAs. Implications: The results of this survey will hopefully imply the need for comfort measures or better counseling opportunities supplied to undergraduate nursing students