Prevalence of Anxiety among Nursing Degree Students at an Institution in the North of Portugal

Abstract

Introduction: During their academic career, university students are exposed to a variety of practices that cause excessive anxiety and can have a negative impact on their physical and psychological well-being and academic performance. Objectives: To analyse the prevalence of anxiety among nursing undergraduate students at a private institution in northern Portugal. Methodology: Quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study, with a non-probabilistic convenience sample of 92 nursing undergraduate students at a private institution in northern Portugal. A sociodemographic and anxiety-related symptomatology questionnaire was used as a data collection tool in April 2024 on Google Forms and published in the institutional email. Results: 100% of the students have anxiety and 81.5% have anxiety levels between 5 and 10. The triggering factors are university (53.3%), personal life (39.1%) and social life (7.6%). At university, anxiety is associated with exams (54.3%), practical assessments (50%), oral presentations (40.2%) and others (60.9%). And 52.2% say they have already sought professional help. Conclusions: This study reveals a high prevalence of anxiety among nursing students. It highlights the need for further studies and actions aimed at better understanding the factors underlying anxiety among these students, with a view to improving the well-being and academic performance of these future health professionals.