Articles

Quality of Life of Medical Students in Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the quality of life (QOL) of Tehran University of Medical Sciences' (TUMS) medical students at different educational levels and specify the most important factors related to this quality. A sample of 242 medical students was selected randomly, given their number in three educational levels (basic sciences, physiopathology-stager and intern). The QOL was measured by WHOQOL-BREF. The students obtained average high score in two psychological and environmental health domains, and low score in physical health and social relationship domains. As the educational level of students increased their quality of life decreased at all four domains. At social relationship domain, the female students had overall better situation as compared to males (p=0.009). The female and male students had opposite condition at the level of basic sciences and internship, in a way that the female students earned higher marks at basic sciences level and the males at internship level (P= 0.008). The condition of female students in terms of environmental, physical and psychological health became static while their education rose. However, only environmental health of the male students reduced as their education level increased (P= 0.05). The students were of undesirable conditions in two domains of social relationship and physical health. Internship is a specific level in both groups which has a negative impact on the dimensions of quality of life and naturally needs more care for the students. Married status improved the students' QOL and could moderate the undesired effects of internship.

Saslow G. Psychiatric problems of medical students. J Med Educ 1956;31(1):27-33.

Khoo TK, Tan TS. Burnout, depression, and quality of life in medical students. Mayo Clin Proc 2007;82(2):251-2.

Dyrbye LN, Thomas MR, Shanafelt TD. Systematic review of depression, anxiety, and other indicators of psychological distress among US and Canadian medical students. Acad Med 2006;81(4):354-73.

Roberts LW, Hardee JT, Franchini G, et al. Medical students as patients: A pilot study of their health care needs, practices, and concerns. Acad Med 1996;71(11):1225-32.

Roberts LW, Warner TD, Trumpower D. Medical students' evolving perspectives on their personal health care: Clinical and educational implications of a longitudinal study. Compr Psychiatry 2000;41(4):303-14.

Roberts LW, Warner TD, Carter D, et al. Caring for medical students as patients: Access to services and careseeking practices of 1 ٠٢٧, students at nine medical schools. Acad Med 2000;75(3):272-7.

Dyrbye LN, Thomas MR, Shanafelt TD. Medical student distress: Causes, consequences, and proposed solutions. Mayo Clin Proc 2005;80(12):1613-22.

WHOQOL Group. The World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment (WHOQOL): position paper from the World Health Organization. Soc Sci Med 1995;41(10):1403-9.

Borglin G, Jakobsson U, Edberg AK, Hallberg IR. Older people in Sweden with various degrees of present quality of life: their health, social support, everyday activities and sense of coherence. Health Soc Care Community 2006;14(2):136-46.

Akvardar Y, Akdede BB, Ozerdem A, et al. Assessment of quality of life with the WHOQOL-BREF in a group of Turkish psychiatric patients compared with diabetic and healthy subjects.Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2006;60(6):693-9.

Stewart SM, Lam TH, Betson CL, et al. A prospective analysis of stress and academic performance in the first two years of medical school. Med Educ 1999;33(4):243-50.

Davis TE, Nida RE, Zlomke KR, et al. Health-Related Quality of Life in College Undergraduates with Learning Disabilities: The Mediational Roles of Anxiety and Sadness. Psychopathol Behav Assess 2009;31(3):228-34.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Social support and health-related quality of life among older adults--Missouri, 2000. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2005;54(17):433-7.

Barry LC, Kasl SV, Lichtman J, et al. Social support and change in health-related quality of life 6 months after coronary artery bypass grafting. J Psychosom Res 2006;60(2):185-93.

Bennett SJ, Perkins SM, Lane KA, et al. Social support and health-related quality of life in chronic heart failure patients. Qual Life Res 2001;10(8):671-82.

Bastardo YM, Kimberlin CL. Relationship between quality of life, social support and disease-related factors in HIVinfected persons in Venezuela. AIDS Care 2000;12(5):673-84.

Amir M, Roziner I, Knoll A, et al. Self-efficacy and social support as mediators in the relation between disease severity and quality of life in patients with epilepsy. Epilepsia 1999;40(2):216-24.

Baker F, Jodrey D, Intagliata J. Social support and quality of life of community support clients. Community Ment Health J 1992;28(5):397-411.

Functions and Structure of a Medical School. Standards for Accreditation of Medical Education Programs Leading to the M.D. Degree. Liaison Committee on Medical Education (Accessed in Feb 14, 2014, at http://www.lcme.org/publications/functions.pdf).

Azizi F. The reform of medical education in Iran. Med Educ 1997;31(3):159-62.

Medical school of Tehran university of medical sciences , the First rank in Iran. Neda Mag 2008; 10(96):4-6.

Danute D, Ramune K, Jadvyga P. Quality of life among Lithuanian university students. Acta Med Lituanica 2003;10(2):76-81.

De Oliveira RA, Ciampone MHT. Nursing Students' Life Quality: Building A Process and Interventions. Rev Esc EnfermUSP 2008;42(1):57-65.

Azadi A, Rezaei Adryani M, Vahedian Azimi A, et al. Comparison of depression, anxiety, stress and quality of life in dormitories students of Tarbiat Modares University. Iran J Nurs Res 2009;2(5):31-8.

Zaki MA. Quality of life and its relationship with selfesteem in male and female students of Isfahan University. IJPCP 2008; 13(4):416-9.

Ghoreishi A, Aghajani AH. Sleep quality in Zanjan University medical students. Tehran Univ Med J 2008;66(1):61-7.

Alborzi SH, Alborzi M. Study of the relationship between self-determination and quality of life in talented students of Shiraz University and Shiraz Medical Sciences University. J Psychol 2006;10(39):321-34.

Nikbakht Nasrabadi A, Mazlum SR, Nesari M, et al. Relation between worry domains and health related quality of life in medical sciences students. Payesh 2009;8(1):85-92.

Nedjat S, Montazeri A, Holakouie K, et al. Psychometric properties of the Iranian interview-administered version of the World Health Organization's Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF): a population-based study. BMC Health Serv Res 2008;8(1): 61.

Damush TM, Hays RD, DiMatteo MR. Stressful life events and health-related quality of life in college students. J Coll Stud Dev 1997;38(2):181-90.

Mousavi SS, Haj Fathali AR, Taghva A, et al. Evaluation of mental health of Nonmilitary medical students at clinical training grade. Sci J Army Univ Med Sci 2008;5(1):1127-32.

Dyrbye LN, Thomas MR, Shanafelt TD. Systematic review of depression, anxiety, and other indicators of psychological distress among US and Canadian medical students. Acad Med 2006;81(4):354-73.

Maroofi M. Depressive symptoms in medical students and physicians. J Jahrom Univ Med Sci 2004;1(1):1-4.

HJavadi M, , assanzadeh G, Salehzadeh Y. The opinion of Qazvin medical students on their future career. J Qazvin Univ Med Sci Health Serv 2006;10(3):91-5.

Nedjat S, Montazeri A, Mohammad K, et al. Quality of life multiple sclerosis compared to the healthy population in Tehran. IRJE 2006;2(3 and 4):19-24.

Strand EB, Zaparanick TL, Brace JJ. Quality of life and stress factors for veterinary medical students. J Vet Med Educ 2005;32(2):182-92.

Dadkhah B, Mohammadi MA, Mozaffari N. Mental Health Status of the Students in Ardabil University of Medical Sciences. J Ardabil Univ Med Sci 2006;6(1):31-6.

Foorman S, Lloyd C. The relationship between social support and psychiatric symptomatology in medical students. J Nerv Ment Dis 1986;174(4):229-39.

McFarland A, Waliczek TM, Zajicek JM. The relationship between student use of campus green spaces and the arboretum and perceptions of quality of life of university students. Hort Technol 2008;18(2):232-8.

Lai JN, Chen HJ, Chen CM, et al. Quality of life and climacteric complaints amongst women seeking medical advice in Taiwan: assessment using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Climacteric 2006;9(2):119-28.

Drageset J, Eide GE, Nygaard HA, et al. The impact of social support and sense of coherence on health-related quality of life among nursing home residents--a questionnaire survey in Bergen, Norway. Int J Nurs Stud 2009;46(1):65-75.

Gallicchio L, Hoffman SC, Helzlsouer KJ. The relationship between gender, social support, and healthrelated quality of life in a community-based study in Washington County, Maryland. Qual Life Res 2007;16(5):777-8.

Files
IssueVol 52, No 5 (2014) QRcode
SectionArticles
Keywords
Quality of life Medical students Iran Clerkship

Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
Heidari M, Majdzadeh R, Pasalar P, Nedjat S. Quality of Life of Medical Students in Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Acta Med Iran. 1;52(5):390-399.