Academic Procrastination and Its Associated Factors among Health Professional Students in Ajman, UAE

Background: Procrastination is one of the most significant contributing factors to stress among students. Procrastinating involves avoiding responsibilities to complete tasks and instead opting for short-term relaxation methods. This research aims to assess the prevalence of academic procrastination and its associated factors among health professional students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 938 students at a medical university in Ajman, UAE. A validated, self-administered Procrastination Assessment Scale for Students was used for data collection. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 29, and a Chi-square test was performed to assess the association between variables. Statistical significance was set at p<=0.05. Results: Over half of the students reported moderate levels of procrastination due to increasing academic workload and expectations across educational programs in writing term papers (n=540, 57.6%), studying for exams (n=506, 53.9%), completing reading assignments (n=505, 53.8%), performing administrative tasks (n=498, 53.1%), and the highest levels of procrastination was observed in completing academic tasks (n=486, 51.8%), Writing term papers (n=216, 23%) and studying for exams (n=234, 24.9%). Gender (p=0.009) and the college to which students enrolled (p=0.02) were significantly associated with procrastination levels. Tasks such as writing term papers, studying for exams, and administrative work were significantly associated with procrastination (p≤0.01). Students with high procrastination levels reported the most stress (48.8%). Conclusion: The study reveals a high prevalence of moderate procrastination among students, particularly in tasks like writing term papers, exams, and completing administrative work. Significant associations were found between procrastination and gender, college affiliation, and stress levels. Students reporting higher procrastination experience greater stress, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to improve academic achievement and well-being.