Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42204535›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2026

Health profession students' anxiety, depression, and imposter syndrome in a rural versus urban setting.

Edie L Sperling, Kalyanii Kennedy, Targol Mehrazar, Madeleine Takahashi, Sophia Rezayee, Chadbourne Zitek, Emily Gresner, Mandilin G Hudson

Abstract readComparative Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical education, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Edie L SperlingCollege of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest, Western University of Health Sciences, 200 Mullins Dr, Lebanon, OR, 97355, USA. esperling@westernu.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6999-079X
Kalyanii KennedySamaritan Health Services, Corvallis, OR, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-9780-589X
Targol MehrazarMission Community Hospital, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-4967-8682
Madeleine TakahashiCollege of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest, Western University of Health Sciences, 200 Mullins Dr, Lebanon, OR, 97355, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-9318-8362
Sophia RezayeeLegacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, Portland, OR, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0008-3675-4484
Chadbourne ZitekUniversity of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0008-4086-9081
Emily GresnerCollege of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest, Western University of Health Sciences, 200 Mullins Dr, Lebanon, OR, 97355, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-0864-6875
Mandilin G HudsonCollege of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest, Western University of Health Sciences, 200 Mullins Dr, Lebanon, OR, 97355, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLimited research exists comparing healthcare students' mental health among disciplines or between rural versus urban healthcare students. The researchers aimed to examine the prevalence and severity of anxiety, depression, and imposter syndrome among medical and physical therapy students in an urban versus a rural university.

methodsStudents enrolled in the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) and the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs in all class years at an urban campus in Pomona, California and rural campus in Lebanon, Oregon, were sent an anonymous survey containing the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Clance Imposter Scale.

resultsN = 316 participants responded, a powered sample at 80%. Mean scores indicated high levels of imposter syndrome and mild levels of anxiety and depression among participants. Urban DPT students had significantly higher anxiety than urban medical students (p = 0.02). Female (p = 0.05) and LGBTQ (p = 0.05) students also had significantly higher imposter syndrome scores than male or heterosexual students, respectively. Anxiety was lower among clinical students compared to preclinical (p = 0.005).

conclusionsImposter syndrome is high among urban and rural medical and physical therapy students. Interventions targeting imposter syndrome, particularly among women and those identifying as LGBTQ, may be beneficial to both medical and physical therapy students. Further research in a larger population is warranted.

Indexed as

AnxietyDepressionRural PopulationStudents, Health OccupationsStudents, MedicalUrban PopulationAdultAnxiety DisordersFemaleHumansMalePrevalenceSelf ConceptSurveys and QuestionnairesYoung AdultAanxietyDepressionImposter syndromeMedical studentsPhysical therapy students

Identifiers

PMID42204535
PMCPMC13404168

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.