Medical Students’ Health and Wellness: A Pilot Study of SGEA Institutions

Krishna Vyas, MHS1, Terry Stratton, PhD1, Patrick Bonasso2, Emily Nease, MD2, Vandra Harris3, Sneha Pampati3,

Michael Rowland, MA, PhD3, Supria Batra4, Todd Gress, MD, MPH4, Neelkamal Soares, MD1

1University of Kentucky College of Medicine, 2West Virginia University School of Medicine, 3University of Louisville School of Medicine, 4Marshall University School of Medicine

BACKGROUND

Personal health and wellness are consistent predictors of illness prevention,

and hallmarks of a healthy lifestyle that should, ideally, be cultivated during

medical training. Ironically, however, the literature suggests that medical

students actually have a higher prevalence of psychological distress when

compared to the general population of age-matched peers. Similarly, several

studies have shown that burnout, depression, anxiety, and stress are prevalent

among medical students. Clearly, health and wellness perceptions and

practices among medical students represents a timely and important topic.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

In our study, we explore students’ perceptions of their own health, including

diet, exercise, stress, sleep habits and awareness of wellness resources – and

examine these trends across the training continuum.

METHODS

From February to April 2012, a cross-sectional survey was conducted of M1-

M4 medical students at four SGEA institutions: Marshall University,

University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and West Virginia

University.

An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was used to gather data on:

(1) student demographics; (2) diet; (3) exercise; (4) sleep; (5) work-life

balance; (6) stress; and (7) awareness and access to support services.

Instruments used (with permission) included the Maslach Burnout Inventory,

Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and a modified Perceived Stress Scale (i.e.,

students were asked to evaluate variables, such as pressures at school, that

made them “feel stressed”).

A link to online survey was sent via e-mail (with two follow-up reminders) to

potential respondents by their respective Offices of Student Affairs. IRB

approval for this study protocol was garnered from all participating

institutions.

The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20.0 was used to

analyze the data. A p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant

for all inferential analyses. Students graduating after 2015 (n=9) were

excluded from all analyses.

A total of 619 of 1847 electronic forms were received for an overall response

rate of 33.5% Male and female respondents were roughly equivalent - 47.0%

and 53.0%, respectively. Respondents’ ages ranged from 20-43, with a mean of

25.11 ± 2.53. Current academic standing varied as follows: M1 (27.2%), M2

(29.9%), M3 (22.8%), M4 (18.5%).

EXERCISE

SLEEP

RESULTS RESULTS

CONCLUSIONS

Although most medical students perceive their diet, exercise, and sleep

habits to be relatively healthy, there was a tendency for first-year (M1)

students’ diet to be significantly more unhealthy – and for fourth-year

students’ (M4) perceived stress levels to be significantly lower. There

was no difference related to exercise or sleep.

Ongoing data analysis will help guide institutions in their efforts to

improve overall health and wellness education among medical students.

Lastly, the collaborative process demonstrated in this study suggests that

medical students can, during their training, develop and execute research

projects that are manageable, rigorous, and of potential benefit to

numerous stakeholders.

SLEEP

STRESS

The project described was supported by the National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through Grant UL1RR033173. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

DIET 1 (very unhealthy) to 4 (very healthy)

Source: https://www.mededportal.org/icollaborative/resource/332