Wellbeing and mental health amongst medical students from Hong Kong

Abstract

Medical students are a known high-risk group for mental health issues. This study aimed to survey the psychological well-being of medical students from Hong Kong, a known stressful city. This study is part of a wider effort to compare the psychological well-being of medical students world-wide. We invited medical students from Hong Kong to complete a self-report questionnaire online. The questionnaire included questions on demographics, known mental health issues, sources of psychological stress, and substance use. It also included the cut-annoyed-guilty-eye (CAGE) questionnaire, Short-Form General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), and the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI). There were 123 responses. Our results suggest high levels of psychological morbidity and distress among medical students in Hong Kong. 87% screened positive for minor psychiatric disorders on the GHQ-12 and 95% met OLBI thresholds for burnout. Female respondents demonstrated significantly higher mean GHQ-12 scores than male. Despite the apparent high prevalence of mental ill-health in this population, only 15% of respondents reported receiving professional help.

Keywords:

• Medical students
• mental health
• wellbeing
• burnout
• Hong Kong

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Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Acknowledgements

This study was conducted, in part, to help inform learner wellbeing strategies in undergraduate medical education and we extend our deepest thanks to all the students of the LKS Faculty of Medicine who gave their time to take part in the survey reported in the paper above. We also thank Professor Gilberto K.K. Leung, Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) and the Deanery of the LKS Faculty of Medicine who supported this work.