The Problem of Stress and Management Strategies Among Public Health and Allied Science (PHAS) Weekend Students

Abstract

The Catholic University operates a week-end degree programme, which has provided opportunities for workers to pursue degrees concurrently with work. Despite its positive effects, however, this phenomenon has exposed weekend students to socio-economic and academic stress in their attempts to combine both working and academic life. Consequently, this study seeks to explore factors associated with the problem of stress and its management strategies adopted by Public Health and Allied Science (PHAS) weekend students of Catholic University College of Ghana. A descriptive survey design is adopted. Questionnaires are developed and used to collect data from 150 PHAS weekend students, non-probability sampling technique is employed namely purposive and convenience sampling. A retention rate of 88% is achieved. Frequencies and percentages are used to analyse data with the aid of SPSS version 16. Tables and bar graphs are used to presents the results of the data. The findings suggest that majority of PHAS weekend students perceived stress at the workplace, had personal stressors and also school-related stressors. It is also identified that students used more constructive coping strategies to deal with stress instead of counter-productive strategies like the use of alcohol or drugs. However, the study also established that the perceived stress affected the academic performance of the students. It is recommended that the Administration and Management of Catholic University College should establish study centres across the country based on the regional and districts distribution of students to reduce the travel time of students.