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

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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.

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Most cited references 22

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Psychological stress and burnout in medical students: a five-year prospective longitudinal study.

C. E. Shaw, Aaron D. Black, Irena F Creed … (1998)

The aim of this study was to assess psychological morbidity and symptoms of burnout in medical students during their undergraduate training, and to identify baseline factors that predict psychological morbidity in students in the final year of the course. It was a 5-year prospective longitudinal cohort study. Students were assessed in years 1, 4 and 5 of their medical undergraduate training by means of the GHQ-12 and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. 172 (84.3%), 157 (77.0%) and 155 (75.9%) students out of an original group of 204 completed assessments in years 1, 4 and 5, respectively. 18 students were above threshold on the GHQ-12 on all three occasions, 25 on two occasions and 43 on one occasion; 69 students were never a 'case'. Students who were cases on two or more occasions were more likely to find the medical course stressful during the first year, but not subsequent years. There was no significant difference between the percentages of men and women who scored as cases on the GHQ-12 in any of the years. The best predictor of psychological morbidity in the final year of the course was the GHQ-12 score in year 1. This study suggests that a small group of students repeatedly experience psychological distress during their medical training.

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The reliability and validity of the short version of the WHO Quality of Life Instrument in an Arab general population

Jude Ohaeri, Abdel W. Awadalla (2009)

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is rising interest in quality of life (QOL) research in Arabian countries. The aim of this study was to assess in a nationwide sample of Kuwaiti subjects the reliability and validity of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF), a shorter version of the widely used QOL assessment instrument that comprises 26 items in the domains of physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and the environment. METHODS: A one-in-three systematic random proportionate sample of consenting Kuwaiti nationals attending large cooperative stores and municipal government offices in the six governorates completed the Arabic translation of the questionnaire. The indices assessed included test-retest reliability, internal consistency, item internal consistency (IIC), item discriminant validity (IDV), known-groups and construct validity. RESULTS: There were 3303 participants (44.8% males, 55.2% females, mean age 35.4 years, range 16 to 87 years). The intra-class correlation for the test-retest statistic and the internal consistency values for the full questionnaire and the domains had a Cronbach's alpha≥0.7. Of the 24 items that constitute the domains, 21 met the IIC requirement of correlation ≥0.4 with the corresponding domain, while 16 met the IDV criterion of having a higher correlation with their corresponding domain than other domains. Domain scores discriminated significantly between well and sick groups. In the factor analysis, four strong factors emerged with the same construct as in the WHO report. CONCLUSION: The Arabic translation of the WHOQOL-BREF has impressive reliability and validity indices. The poor IDV findings are due to the multidimensional nature of the questionnaire. The highly significant validity indices should reassure researchers that the questionnaire represents the same constructs across cultures. Negatively worded items possibly need refinement.

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Stress, coping, and well-being among third-year medical students.

S Neral, C A Grothues, P Dubbert … (1994)

Medical school is recognized as a stressful environment that often exerts a negative effect on the academic performance, physical health, and psychological well-being of the student. Stress, coping, depression, and somatic distress were examined among 69 third-year students completing a psychiatry clerkship in 1992-93 at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. Stress was assessed using the Medical Education Hassles Scale-R. Coping was assessed using the Coping Strategies Inventory. Depression was assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, and somatic distress was assessed using the Wahler Physical Symptoms Inventory. Statistical methods included correlational analysis and hierarchical regression. Clinical levels of depression were found in 16 (23%) of the students, and 39 (57%) endorsed high levels of somatic distress. Stress accounted for a large percentage of the distress variance (i.e., 29% to 50%). Coping efforts contributed significant variance to the prediction of distress above and beyond that accounted for by stress alone, especially in relation to depression. Coping efforts classified by Engagement strategies were associated with fever depressive symptoms, while coping efforts classified by Disengagement strategies were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. Because students who employed coping efforts characterized by Engagement strategies suffered from fewer depressive symptoms, the results suggest that training in these types of strategies may be a useful intervention to lessen the negative consequences of stress among medical students.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Husam Malibary: hmmalibary@kau.edu.sa

Mohammad M. Zagzoog:

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4275-2839

+966567249549 , Mohammadmzagzoog@gmail.com

Maysaa A. Banjari: maysaa.ban@gmail.com

Ryan O. Bamashmous: RyanBamashmous.M.D@hotmail.com

Anoud R. Omer: Anoud.r.omer@gmail.com

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): BMC Med Educ

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): BMC Med Educ

Title: BMC Medical Education

Publisher: BioMed Central (London )

ISSN (Electronic): 1472-6920

Publication date (Electronic): 9 September 2019

Publication date PMC-release: 9 September 2019

Publication date Collection: 2019

Volume: 19

Electronic Location Identifier: 344

Affiliations

[1 ]ISNI 0000 0001 0619 1117, GRID grid.412125.1, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, , King Abdulaziz University, ; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

[2 ]ISNI 0000 0004 1790 7311, GRID grid.415254.3, Department of Surgery, , King Abdulaziz Medical City, ; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

[3 ]ISNI 0000 0001 0619 1117, GRID grid.412125.1, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, , King Abdulaziz University, ; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

[4 ]ISNI 0000 0004 0607 9688, GRID grid.412126.2, Clinical Research Unit, , King Abdulaziz University Hospital, ; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

[5 ]ISNI 0000 0001 0619 1117, GRID grid.412125.1, Medical Education Department, Faculty of Medicine, , King Abdulaziz University, ; Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Author information

Mohammad M. Zagzoog http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4275-2839

Article

Publisher ID: 1775

DOI: 10.1186/s12909-019-1775-8

PMC ID: 6734217

PubMed ID: 31500610

SO-VID: 217cff40-9823-4e51-ba86-0fba3f017dde

License:

Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

History

Date received : 15 March 2018

Date accepted : 29 August 2019

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Education

Keywords: medical students,medical education,quality of life (qol),grade point average (gpa)

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Education

Keywords: medical students, medical education, quality of life (qol), grade point average (gpa)

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

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Journal of Medical Education Research

Most cited references 22

Psychological stress and burnout in medical students: a five-year prospective longitudinal study.

The reliability and validity of the short version of the WHO Quality of Life Instrument in an Arab general population

Stress, coping, and well-being among third-year medical students.

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