A Cross Sectional Survey of Depression Among Undergraduate Physiotherapy Students Using Beck’s Depression Inventory

Introduction:  Depression is a universal problem that affects people belonging to medical profession. In Physiotherapy profession there is constant contact with the patients as well as academic stress which can lead to various mental health problems that need to be identified. Due to limited research in depression in physiotherapy students, the following study was undertaken. Objectives: This study is undertaken to identify the incidence of depression in Undergraduate Physiotherapy students of TMV’s Lokmanya Tilak College of Physiotherapy, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai. Methods: Using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), the study was conducted with a sample size of 156 undergraduate physiotherapy students. The questionnaire was self-administered and the results were calculated. Students from 1^st year odd batch to interns were taken for the study. Students who were clinically pre-diagnosed with depression were excluded from the study. Results: Overall, 65% have minimal depression, 16% have mild depression, 12% have moderate depression and the remaining 7% have severe depression. Females showed a higher prevalence to depression than males in every year. Conclusion: Our study concludes that due to the academic stresses as well as personal stresses in the individual lives the students have shown presence of depression. Minimal and mild depression is seen in more numbers.