Quality of life in 1st year medical students

Abstract

Introduction. Quality of life refers to psychological, social and physical state of individuals and their ability to function in everyday life. Professional training affects students quality of life. Simultaneously, health and welfare of students are prerequisite for good medical education outcomes. Purpose. Evaluation of subjective perception of health related to the quality of life in the lst year medical students. Materials and methods. The study sample was comprised is 727 students enrolled in 2011 to the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Nicolae Testemitanu”. Subjective health estimates were obtained using SF-36v2 (36-Item Short-Form Health Simvey) questionnaire. Results. The participants were between 18 and 26 (mean age 19,63±1,75). The sample consisted of 523 females (71,9%) and 204 males (28.1%). The highest means’ scores were obtained in Physical Functioning (PF) M-91,91 vs. F-87,74; Bodily pain (BP) - M-84,24 vs. F-73,79 scales. The lowest means’ scores were in General Health (GH) - M-62,59 vs. F-55,23; Vitality (VT) - M-64,46 vs. F-57,04; and Mental Health (MH) -M66,66 vs. F-60,06 scales. Mean PF scores, being the highest, varied from 83,53 in Dentistry students to 91,8 in Public Flealth students. The biggest difference was on BP scale (from 65,8 in Public Health to 82,88 in Pharmacy students). The GH scale got the lowest scores in entire sample (52,5 in Public Health, 56,41 in Dentistry, 57,19 in General Medicine, and 61,23 in Pharmacy). Based on the scores obtained using 8 scales, mean scores for Physical component summary (PCS) and Mental component summary (MCS) were calculated. The mean values of the PCS were lower both in males 46,90 and females 43,04, than those of the MCS (48,13 and 44.15 in males and females respectively). PCS mean values in our sample were the highest in Dentistry students 41,29 and the lowest in Pharmacy students 44,70. MCS mean values were the lowest in Public Health students 42,05, and the highest in Dentistry students 47,99. Conclusions. Our results support the need for both subjective and objective health state screening immediately after the enrollment. The results of such screening will serve for planning timely prevention and treatment, and for health promotion activities as well.