Abstract

Background: The study of the health professions is extremely demanding and challenging which requires students to manage a complex learning and professional environment. For students to perform at their best in higher education settings, they need to be able to effectively deal with pressure. There is dearth of literature regardingstressandworkabilityamong𿿿nalyear, internsandpostgraduate students. So, we intend to determine the prevalence of work-related psychological stress and workability among physiotherapy students. Materials and Methods: A Google form questionnaire was created with survey related questions from the Work Ability Index (WAI) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 106 physiotherapy students (aged 19 to 26) were chosen (convenience sample) from different physiotherapy institutions in Gujarat. Result: there is persistence perceived stress and work ability among the physiotherapy colleges across Gujarat. Conclusion: Majority of the population reported to have moderate level of perceived stress and excellent work ability.

• 1.   Sabih, F., Siddiqui, F.R., & Baber, M.N. (2013). Assessment of stress among physiotherapy students at Riphah Centre of Rehabilitation Sciences. J Pak Med Assoc, 63(3), 346-49.
• 2.   Tucker B., Jones S., Mandy A., et al. Physiotherapy students’ sources of stress, perceived course dif𿿿culty, and paid employment: comparison between Western Australia and the United Kingdom. Physiother Theory Pract. 2006; 85: 1301-1317
• 3.   Jacob, Tamar P.T., Ph.D.; Gummesson, Christina P.T., Ph.D.; Nordmark, Eva P.T., Ph.D.; El-Ansary, Doa P.T., Ph.D.; Remedios, Louisa P.T., Ph.D.; Webb, Gillian DipPhysio, MClinEd, DEd. Perceived Stress and Sources of Stress Among Physiotherapy Students From 3 Countries. Journal of Physical Therapy Education 26(3): pp. 57-65, Fall 2012.
• 4.   Maia M.S., Dos Santos G.L., Porto C.C. Work related stress among physiotherapists from the musculoskeletal area: An observational study. Work. 2022; 71(4): 1163-1173. doi: 10.3233/ WOR-205195. PMID: 35253689.
• 5.   Walsh J.M., Feeney C., Hussey J., Donnellan C. Sources of stress and psychological morbidity among undergraduate physiotherapy students. Physiotherapy. 2010 Sep 1; 96(3): 206-12.
• 6.   Seham M. Alyousef, Psychosocial stress factors among mental health nursing students in KSA, Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, Volume 14, Issue 1,2019, Pages 60-66, ISSN 1658-3612.
• 7.   Radkiewich P., Widerszal-Bazyl M. Psychometric Properties of Work Ability Index in the Light of Comparative Survey Study. International Congress Series 1280. The Netherlands Elsevier 2005; 304-309.
• 8.   De Zwart B., Frings-Dresen M. Test retest reliability of the Work Ability Index questionnaire, Occupational (London) 2002; 52: 177-181.
• 9.   Ilmarinen J., Tuomi K. Past, present and future of work ability. People and work research reports. Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki 2004; 65: 1-25.
• 10.   Tuomi K., Ilmarinen J., Jahkola A., Katajarinne L., Tulkki A. Work Ability Index, 2nd revised edition Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki 1998.
• 11.   Cohen S., Kamarch, T. and Mermelstein, R.A. global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 1983; 24: 386-396.
• 12.   Cohen S. Perceived Stress in a probability sample of the United States. In S. Spacapan and S. Oskamp (Eds). The Social Psychology of Health. Sage Publications 1988; 31-67.
• 13.   Brooke, T., Brown, M., Orr, R. et al. Stress and burnout: exploring postgraduate physiotherapy students’ experiences and coping strategies. BMC Med Educ 20, 433 (2020).
• 14.   Vinit Mody, VrajBarot, Rucha Parolekar et al. Prevalence of Work-Related Psychological Stress and Work Ability among Nursing Students: A Cross Sectional Study. Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy 2022; 16(3): 98-102.

Data Sharing Statement

Funding