Fatigue among nursing undergraduate students

Abstract

Fatigue among students may harm their learning. This study evaluated the fatigue of nursing undergraduate students and its relations to their graduation year, participation in extracurricular activities, people with whom they lived, depression and their body mass index (BMI)). The study had the participation of 189 (60.2%) students from the EEUSP, from which 96.2% were women with the average age of 21.6 years old, 80.9% lived with their parents, 43.9% performed extracurricular activities, 24.8% had varied BMI and 22.2% presented dysphoria or depression (Beck Depression Inventory). Fatigue was moderate/intense for 83.5% of the students (Piper Fatigue Scale - Revised and Fatigue Pictogram) and 59.8% reported moderate/intense impairment in their habitual activities. Fatigue presented a positive correlation to the graduation year, to the BMI and to depression (p<0.001). The academic activity was the main cause of fatigue, whereas sleep and leisure were the most frequent strategies to handle it. Fatigue was significant and intense, but there was an irregularity between its frequency, magnitude and impact in the daily life activities.