Abstract:
New challenges in higher education such as greater student intake, limited resources and stakeholder demands have put extra pressure on both academic and non-academic staff, and such pressure may result in developing fatigue and depression in them. The objective of the study was to investigate demographic characteristics associated with depressive symptoms in a sample of non-academic staff members in a Southern university in Sri Lanka. A cross- sectional survey design was used. Data was collected using Google forms and ethical clearance was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Ruhuna, Galle. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies- Depression scale (CES-D-10), a tool validated in Sri Lanka was employed to assess depressive symptomatology of the participants. The score of the CES-D 10 ranges from 0 to 30, with higher scores representing a more depressed mood. Score equal or above 10 is considered as having depressive symptoms. A total of 310 non-academic staff members participated in the survey. The majority were men (57%) and the mean age was 43 years (SD = 9.4). The mean number of years that the participants worked was 18 years (SD = 9.9). The overall prevalence of elevated depressive symptomatology was 56.3% (95% CI: 49.7%, 62.6%). Female gender (OR = 6.01, 95% CI: 3.28 10.97), having completed tertiary education (OR = 44.6, 95% CI: 10.57, 188.1) and having less than 10 years of work experience (OR = 3.20, 95% CI: 1.79, 5.71) were found to be factors associated with higher risk of developing Depressive symptoms. The prevalence of depressive symptoms is considerably high in this target population. Authorities need to pay special attention to improve psychological well-being of female non-academic staff members. Structural and personal factors associated with associated with psychological well-being of non-academic staff members needs to be further investigated.
