Medical Students' Perception of Their Educational Environment and Quality of Life: Is There a Positive Association?

Purpose To assess perceptions of educational environment of students from 22 Brazilian medical schools and to study the association between these perceptions and quality of life (QoL) measures. Method The authors performed a multicenter study (August 2011 to August 2012), examining students' views both of (1) educational environment using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) and (2) QoL using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment, abbreviated version (WHOQOL-BREF). They also examined students' self-assessment of their overall QoL and medical-school-related QoL (MSQoL). The authors classified participants' perceptions into four quartiles according to DREEM total score, overall QoL, and MSQoL. Results Of 1,650 randomly selected students, 1,350 (81.8%) completed the study. The mean total DREEM score was 119.4 (standard deviation = 27.1). Higher total DREEM scores were associated with higher overall QoL and MSQoL scores (P < .001 for all comparisons) and younger ages (P < .001). Mean overall QoL scores were higher than MSQoL scores (mean difference, 1.35; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.28-1.43; P < .001). Multinomial regression models showed significant dose-response patterns: Higher DREEM quartile scores were associated with better QoL. The psychological health domain of WHOQOL-BREF was most closely associated with DREEM scores (odds ratio 4.70; 95% CI = 3.80-5.81). Conclusions The authors observed a positive association between QoL measures and DREEM scores. This association had a dose-response effect, independent of age, sex, and year of medical training, showing that educational environment appears to be an important moderator of medical student QoL.