Emotional Well-Being, Anxiety, Depression, and Burnout Among First-Year Hospital Medical Students in Guatemala: A Pilot Study

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2025.4101

Keywords:

Students, Medical;, Anxiety; Depression;, Burnout, Psychological;, Emotional Well-being;, Guatemala.

Abstract

Background: The transition into the first hospital year is a critical period in medical education, exposing students to new responsibilities, academic demands, and emotional stressors that increase vulnerability to anxiety, depression, and burnout. In Guatemala, evidence on students’ mental health at this stage is scarce. This pilot study examined emotional well-being, anxiety, depression, and burnout among Guatemalan medical students.

 

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 50 first-year hospital medical students from public and private universities in Guatemala using non-probabilistic convenience sampling. Data collection employed a Google Forms questionnaire with validated instruments: Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7) for anxiety, and Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) for exhaustion and disengagement. Sociodemographic data were also obtained. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and chi-square tests were performed with significance set at p < 0.05.

 

Results: Mean OLBI scores were 16.3 ± 4.2 for exhaustion and 19.5 ± 2.9 for disengagement, with high levels in 40% and 84% of students, respectively. The mean PHQ-9 score was 6.0 ± 3.9, with 22% meeting criteria for moderate-to-severe depression. The mean GAD-7 score was 9.4 ± 5.5, with 42% screening positive for moderate or higher anxiety. Depression and anxiety were strongly correlated (r = 0.71, p < 0.001). Burnout was not significantly associated with depression or anxiety (p > 0.5).

 

Conclusions: This pilot study revealed high rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout among Guatemalan medical students, underscoring the urgent need for institutional interventions to protect mental health.

Author Biographies

Ana Palomo, STUDENT

Ana is currently a fourth-year medical student in the seven-year program at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Guatemala City, and an affiliated professor at the Health Sciences Research Center of the same university.



Victor Rivero, STUDENT

Víctor is a fourth-year medical student at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, enrolled in a seven-year program, and is ranked in the top 5% of his class.



Luis Torres, MD, PROFESSOR

uis Torres, MD is the Coordinator of the Simulation Medicine Center (CeSMed) at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Guatemala City.



Downloads

Published

2025-12-31

How to Cite

PALOMO, A., Rivero, V., & Torres, L. (2025). Emotional Well-Being, Anxiety, Depression, and Burnout Among First-Year Hospital Medical Students in Guatemala: A Pilot Study. International Journal of Medical Students, 13, S232. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2025.4101

Issue

Vol 13. (2025): Supplement 1

Section

Abstracts of the WCMSR

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Ana Palomo, Victor Rivero, Luis Torres, MD

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

  1. The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
  2. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
  3. The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
    1. Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site; with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
    2. The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
    3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
    4. Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
    5. The Author represents and warrants that:
      1. the Work is the Author’s original work;
      2. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
      3. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
      4. the Work has not previously been published;
      5. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
      6. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
    6. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from the Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.

Enforcement of copyright

The IJMS takes the protection of copyright very seriously.

If the IJMS discovers that you have used its copyright materials in contravention of the license above, the IJMS may bring legal proceedings against you seeking reparation and an injunction to stop you using those materials. You could also be ordered to pay legal costs.

If you become aware of any use of the IJMS' copyright materials that contravenes or may contravene the license above, please report this by email to contact@ijms.org

 

Infringing material

If you become aware of any material on the website that you believe infringes your or any other person's copyright, please report this by email to contact@ijms.org