Health-Related Quality of Life of Future Physicians at a Medical School in the Philippines

Medical students are trained to maintain the health of patients,but such training may have undesirable effects on medical students’ personal health.This study therefore aimed to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) ofmedical students and to determine the factors that are associated with the students’HRQOL. The target population included all students enrolled at the Saint LouisUniversity School of Medicine in Baguio City, Philippines, during school year 2012-2013.The measurements included the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire forHRQOL, Beck Depression Inventory, abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory, PerceivedStress Scale, Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, and self-report items for other exposurevariables. A total of 527 medical students participated in the study. The mean scores inall of the eight domains of HRQOL ranged from 51.36 to 85.83. The highest mean scoreswere along the areas of physical functioning (85.83) and bodily pain (69.20), whereasthe lowest mean scores were in the areas of vitality (51.72) and role limitations due toemotional problems (51.36). Depression, stress, and burnout were associated with lowerscores in most of the domains of HRQOL. Medical students in our school are generally ina satisfactory state of functional health and well-being, but have a lower level ofmental health as compared with physical health