TANTANGAN KESEHATAN MENTAL DAN PERSEPSI LITERASI PSIKOLOGIS MAHASISWA ILMU KESEHATAN: ANALISIS DATA SURVEI DAN REFLEKSI AKADEMIK

Abstract

Health sciences students face unique academic pressures due to the simultaneous demands of theoretical coursework, practical training, and early professional role preparation. These conditions heighten their psychological risk, particularly academic stress, adjustment difficulties, and time-management problems. Growing concern over student mental health in higher education highlights the importance of psychological literacy as a key resource for recognizing mental health issues, understanding support pathways, and developing adaptive responses to academic pressure. This study analyzed the dominant mental health challenges among health sciences students and their perceptions of strengthening psychological literacy. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted with 350 students from five programs: Pharmacy, Nutrition, Midwifery, Hospital Administration, and Sports Science, selected via stratified random sampling. Data were collected using a closed-ended questionnaire and analyzed through descriptive statistics, Chi-Square tests, and Cramer's V. Results showed that 74.0% of students perceived efforts to strengthen psychological literacy as very important, and 25.1% considered it important. The most dominant mental health challenge was academic workload/stress (34.9%), followed by adjustment difficulties (24.0%) and time-management problems (18.6%). Inferential analysis revealed a significant difference in mental health problem types across study programs (p < 0.001), but not across gender (p = 0.129). These findings suggest that psychological literacy initiatives and psychosocial support in health sciences faculties should be designed contextually, aligned with the distinct academic burdens and needs of each program.