Abstract
This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the medical student perception about their QoL, in order to become ware of their own probems. Methods: We applied three instruments: a SF36 health questionnaire, a QoL self-perception questionnaire and a questionnaire regarding self-awareness and coping strategies. The questionnaires were sent to all medical students from first to fourth year. Results: 203 students answered the questionnaires (64.5% were women and average age was 20 years old). Students self-perception about QoL was overestimated in most of the domains except in physical role functioning (p <0.001). There was a significant difference between genders, and men showed a greater deviation from SF36 to QoL self-perception for mental health domain than women (p=0.04). Regarding the questionnaire about self-awareness, most of them felt that the way they think is consistent with how they act and they are aware of their own needs. They evaluated their QoL as good or great. In relation to coping strategies, "seeking out help of others" was one of the most common strategies used. When analyzing the results between genders, women increased their food intake more than men (P = 0.002). Conclusion: Student self-perception about QoL is mistaken and overestimated.
Highlights
Quality of life (QoL) is a concept that encompasses physical health, psychological state, level of independence, social relationships, personal beliefs, and relationships with factors in the environment, aspects of which may change completely over time (The WHOQOL Group, 1995; Lins and Carvalho, 2016).A good QoL is known to be fundamental for personal achievement and for an integrated and productive society; it is crucial to overall health, which is why knowledge on the quality of life of certain populations is very important (Chigerwe, Boudreaux and Ilkiw, 2018)
Students from the first to fourth year of our medical school were invited to participate in our study and complete three questionnaires: the SF-36, a second in which students gave their subjective opinions on their QoL in the eight domains described in the SF-36 (Table 1), scoring these domains from 1 to 100, and a third questionnaire on selfawareness and coping strategies, with the first part evaluated on a Likert scale addressing self-awareness and the second part on coping methods, with 8 answer options: being alone; seeking help from other people; using drinks or drugs; increased food intake; playing sports; seeking professional help; seeking religious and other help
This study found that medical students’ self-perceived quality of life scores are overestimated, given the fact that most of them reported that the way they think is consistent with the way they act and that they know their own needs
Summary
Quality of life (QoL) is a concept that encompasses physical health, psychological state, level of independence, social relationships, personal beliefs, and relationships with factors in the environment, aspects of which may change completely over time (The WHOQOL Group, 1995; Lins and Carvalho, 2016).A good QoL is known to be fundamental for personal achievement and for an integrated and productive society; it is crucial to overall health, which is why knowledge on the quality of life of certain populations is very important (Chigerwe, Boudreaux and Ilkiw, 2018). Quality of life (QoL) is a concept that encompasses physical health, psychological state, level of independence, social relationships, personal beliefs, and relationships with factors in the environment, aspects of which may change completely over time (The WHOQOL Group, 1995; Lins and Carvalho, 2016). The Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), for example, divides QoL into eight domains: physical functioning, general health, pain, social functioning, mental health, role functioning (physical) and role functioning (emotional) - (Makiyama et al, 2004; Lins and Carvalho, 2016; Jang et al, 2018). A study of medical students in Germany found high rates of depression, as well as of cognitive and emotional burnout; these factors result in significantly lower mental QoL, among women (Burger and Scholz, 2018)
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