Quality of Life of University Students During The COVID-19 Pandemic: Age, History of Medical Illness, Religious Coping, COVID-19 Related Stressors, Psychological Factors and Social Support Were Predictive of Quality of Life

Abstract

Background: In Malaysia, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) began to spread in March 2020, and the infection has not been fully controlled since then. Despite the significant impact of COVID-19 on mental health among university students, data on the related quality of life (QoL) are lacking in this group of the population. This study aimed to evaluate QoL and determine its association with various factors and social support in a cohort of Malaysian university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This online, cross-sectional survey recruited 316 university students from the medical faculties of two Malaysian public universities. They were administered a self-reported questionnaire to gather data on demographic, personal, clinical and psychological characteristics; the 21-item depression, anxiety and stress scale (DASS-21) to assess the severity of their depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms; the multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS) to assess the degree of social support; and the World Health Organization quality of life-BREF (WHOQoL-BREF) to assess QoL. Results: The psychological and social QoL scores were lower than the non-pandemic norms of the general population, while the physical health and environmental QoL scores were comparable. Religious coping; greater number of hours of online classes attended; and greater social support from family, friends and significant others were found to be significantly associated with higher QoL among the participants. Older age, frustration because of loss of daily routine and study disruption, living in areas with a high prevalence of COVID-19 cases, a history of pre-existing medical illness, and a higher severity of depressive and anxiety symptoms were significantly associated with lower QoL. Conclusion: COVID-19 impaired the QoL of university students even after the movement control order (MCO) was lifted. Our findings indicated the pivotal role of online mental and physical healthcare services to improve the QoL of university students during the uncertain time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19: Mental Health and Academic Performance Among University Students

“…According to past researchers, one's quality of life tends to elevate or improve when social support is received, and those who live alone are perceived to experience a higher level of anxiety and depression (Bolatov et al, 2021;Elmer, Mepham, & Stadtfeld, 2020;Wei, 2020). In other words, it is important to have a supportive network such as friends and the university (Sundarasen et al, 2020;Stempel, Alemi, Morgan, & Ingram, 2020) and from family (Abdullah, Murad, Teoh, & Mohamad, 2020). This research provides insight to the university management on the importance of students' mental status, as the neglect of it ruins the quality of students' life and their academic performance.…”

Navigating the COVID-19 Storm: Assessing Well-being in University Students from Lower-Income Backgrounds

“…A previous study conducted in the United States among lower-income undergraduate students revealed negative online learning experiences due to a sudden transition (Aucejo, French, Araya, & Zafar, 2020). While another study conducted by Abdullah et al (2020) disclosed that even when the MCO ended in May 2020, university students in Malaysia tended to exhibit lower psychological and social relationships. Another study conducted in India and Spain also revealed the negative impact of COVID-19 on individual emotions as the respondents develop feelings of loneliness, sadness, anxiety, and frustration (Grover, Sahoo, Mehra, Avasthi, Tripathi, Subrahmanyan, & Chakraborty, 2020: Odriozola-González, Planchuelo-Gómez, Irurtia & de Luis-García, (2020.…”

“…With no alternative solution to escape from the COVID pandemic, the government took prompt action to implement the Movement Control Order (MCO) to curb the outbreak from 18 March to 12 May 2020 (MDBC, 2020). All social, religious, sporting, and cultural gatherings were banned except for essential services (Abdullah, Murad, Teoh, & Mohamad, 2020). During the MCO, people were confined for a certain period of social isolation (Sundarasen, Chinna, Kamaludin, Nurunnabi, Baloch, Khoshaim& Sukayt, 2020).…”

Gambaran Kualitas Hidup Pada Mahasiswa Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Tarumanagara Jakarta

“…Faktor-faktor ini diduga dapat memicu stres dan pada akhirnya dapat mempengaruhi kualitas hidup mahasiswa kedokteran (Malibary et al, 2019). Terlebih lagi di masa pandemi COVID-19, mahasiswa mengalami perubahan pola kehidupan maupun sistem pembelajaran, yang mana perubahan tersebut dapat berpengaruh terhadap kualitas hidupnya (Abdullah et al, 2020). Di Indonesia, publikasi penelitian mengenai gambaran kualitas hidup pada mahasiswa di Fakultas Kedokteran masih sangat terbatas.…”