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. 2019 Sep 9;19(1):344.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-019-1775-8.

Quality of Life (QoL) among medical students in Saudi Arabia: a study using the WHOQOL-BREF instrument

Husam Malibary  1 , Mohammad M Zagzoog  2 , Maysaa A Banjari  3 , Ryan O Bamashmous  1 , Anoud R Omer  4   5
Affiliations

Quality of Life (QoL) among medical students in Saudi Arabia: a study using the WHOQOL-BREF instrument

Husam Malibary et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: Poor Quality of Life (QoL) among medical students is associated with an unhealthy lifestyle, psychological distress, and academic failure, which could affect their care for patients in the future. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Arabic WHOQOL-BREF tool among Saudi medical students and to assess the effect of gender, educational level, and academic performance on their QoL.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study among medical students of King Abdulaziz University in February 2016, using the Arabic version of the WHOQOL-BREF instrument.

Results: Six-hundred-thirty medical students were included, where females constituted (51.1%). Cronbach's α coefficient for the overall domains of WHOQOL-BREF was 0.86. Students' self-reported QoL mean score was 3.99 ± 0.95, and their mean score for the overall satisfaction with health was 3.66 ± 1.06. The environmental domain had the highest mean score (67.81 ± 17.39). High achievers showed lower psychological health, while poor academic performance was associated with better psychological health and social relationship QoL scores (P < 0.013 and P < 0.014, respectively).

Conclusions: The WHOQOL-BREF is valid and reliable for assessing QoL among Saudi medical students. Although gender and academic year had no impact on the students' QoL, better-performing students reported lower psychological health and social relationships scores.

Keywords: Grade point average (GPA); Medical education; Medical students; Quality of life (QoL).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a Students’ slef-reported overall Qol. b Students’ slef-reported statisfavtion one’s health
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Medical student’s “Psychological Health” scores according to their GPA
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Medical student’s “Social Relationships” scores according to their GPA
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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