Exploring the Quality of Life (QOL) of Medical Students in Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract Background: The pursuit of medical education is challenging and sometimes it can affect the overall quality of life of medical students. Assessing the quality of life of medical students is the first step to prepare efficient future healthcare professionals. This study used WHOQOL-BREF (World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version) questionnaire to evaluate the quality of life of medical students in Karachi, Pakistan. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 344 medical students belonging to different medical universities in Karachi, Pakistan. The WHOQOL-BREF (World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version) questionnaire was used to assess QOL, which included 26 items covering four domains: physical, psychological, social, and environmental. All scores for domains ranged from 4 to 20. Scoring was done according to the WHOQOL-BREF procedure manual. The questionnaire was disseminated using Google Forms among medical students. SPSS software was utilized to analyze the data. The reliability was evaluated by implementing Cronbach's alpha, and the validity was confirmed by applying the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test. For each variable and QoL domain, descriptive statistics were computed, including frequencies, percentages, averages, and standard deviations. Domain scores were compared employing a t-test and one-way ANOVA, with p values less than 0.05 indicating statistical significance. Results: Among the 344 medical students, 56.7% (n = 195) were females while 43.3% (n = 149) were males. The WHOQOL-BREF demonstrated excellent reliability with Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.918. Most medical students rated their overall QOL (62.2%) and health satisfaction (46.8%) as good with being able to get around well (71.3%). No significant gender differences were found across the various QOL domains. Martial status significantly impacted the QOL scores with p < 0.005. Single students had significantly higher QOL scores than married/separated/divorced students. Overall, environmental domain had the highest mean score (26.81 ± 6.17), while social relationships had the lowest mean score (9.68 ± 2.93). Conclusion: The study findings provide valuable insights into the QoL of medical students. Most participants reported moderate satisfaction with their physical health while lower satisfaction with psychological, social and environmental components of QoL. Marital status was found to impact the quality of life significantly with single students having a greater QoL. These findings can help form targeted interventions to enhance medical students’ quality of life to prepare efficient future healthcare professionals.