A questionnaire on the quality of life of medical students

Context and setting The medical student needs many years to acquire professional abilities. Many activities outwith the curriculum contribute to the student’s development and add significantly to the time required for studying and learning medicine. All these demands are added to the many other factors that generate stress. Why the idea was necessary Developing tools with which to understand these factors and their impact on students is necessary for the design of interventions that improve the experience of medical education. What was done We developed and validated a questionnaire to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of medical students. The project was developed in four phases. Firstly, we facilitated focus groups in six medical schools with groups that were heterogeneous for gender and year of medical school in order to obtain data for the development of the questionnaire. Secondly, we designed the first version of the questionnaire, which incorporated 90 items and used a Likert scale-based response format. Thirdly, we administered the questionnaire to 800 medical students in 75 medical schools in Brazil. Fourthly, using these data, we validated the questionnaire and tested internal consistency, discriminant validity, construct validity and factor analysis. Evaluation of results and impact Cronbach’s α for internal consistency of the questionnaire was 0.78. Cronbach’s α was tested for each item and all items with α ≤ 0.3 (38 items) were eliminated. Two other items were eliminated after semantic analysis, resulting in a questionnaire with 50 items. The results were analysed according to gender and year of medical course. The data showed significant differences between these groups. Total scores from the questionnaire were compared with self-evaluation scores on QoL and showed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.56, Spearman coefficient). Factor analysis (rotated component matrix) showed the presence of 13 domains in the questionnaire, explaining 56.8% of total variation. Grouping domains by similarity of theme resulted in the identification of five main domains: overall QoL; physical QoL; time management; the learning environment, and psychological QoL. The questionnaire analysis showed that 45.4% of the students were not satisfied with their medical courses. Factors that improve the QoL of medical students were good supervision of practical activities, participation in projects of social development, good classes, good teachers and contact with patients. Lack of free time to study, engage in leisure pursuits, maintain relationships and gain enough rest was considered a major factor in decreasing QoL for medical students. Students in Years 3 and 4 showed the lowest QoL scores in relation to the medical course and for the domains of the questionnaire; these values were lower for females. Students in Years 5 and 6 had better relationships with teachers and regarded the medical course as very competitive. We also made a transcultural translation to English. The questionnaire permits analysis of the QoL of medical students and the factors that generate stress in this group. This understanding can help medical schools design appropriate interventions.