Impact of studying medicine in private and governmental faculties on the quality of life among a group of university students in Egypt

ABSTRACT

Life as a medical student poses particular challenges and stressors which can impact on quality of life. The aim of this study is to measure the QOL [quality of life] among a group of university students in Egypt and to assess the impact of the type of study and private education on their QOL. A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted to include medical [231] and non medical [490] fourth year students from both governmental and private universities using convenient sampling technique. An anonymous self administered questionnaire including socio-economic, and WHOQOL-BREF form was filled by students after taking their consent. QOL among Egyptian university students was relatively low compared to other studies. The highest QOL domain score was the physical [11.98 +/- 2.20] followed by the social [11.58 +/- 3.02], then psychological [11.13 +/- 2.44] and lastly environmental domain [l0.08 +/- 2.49]. Medical study was significantly associated with better QOL in all its domains. Students who studied in governmental university showed higher QOL represented in the social domain only. Further in depth studies are needed to investigate different factors affecting QOL among Egyptian university students