Health status of nursing students of Hormozgan University of medical sciences by Goldberg’s general health questionnaire - 2011

Introduction: Physical and mental health of students as future human resources of each country, is of particular importance. The purpose of this survey was to determine the general health status of nursing students in Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences in 2011. Methods: In this cross sectional study, 95 nursing students of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences were selected with convenience sampling method and their health status was assessed with Goldberg's general health questionnaire. This questionnaire consisted 28 multiple choice questions in four dimensions of physical functioning disorder, anxiety and sleep disorders, social functioning disorder and depression symptoms. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-tests and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: Findings showed that 30.5% of the samples were male and 75.8% were residing in the dormitory. The average age of the samples was 21.12±1.44 years and their mean of total educational achievement mark was 16.12±1.02 out of 20. The findings revealed that 36.8% of the samples had general health score higher than cut off point. This indicated that the subjects from different dimensions had general health disorders, such as: physical functioning disorder 32.6%, anxiety and sleep disorders 37.9%, social functioning disorder 54.7%, and depression symptoms 17.9%. Statistical relationship showed that there was a significant relationship between general health score and age. Conclusion: Results showed that general health scores and their health related issues were both higher among the younger students. The assessment of physical and mental health status in the beginning of their entrance to the university and, even in high school period, as well as holding counseling classes could be effective in order to promote the youth health condition.