Health-related quality of life of undergraduate nursing school students at the Federal University of Uberlandia

The process of training nursing students causes stress, anxiety and mental disorders which may impair performing activities pertaining to the curriculum, and compromise the quality of life of future nurses. The purpose of this study was to verify the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of students in the undergraduate nursing school at the Medical School of the Federal University of Uberlandia (FAMED-UFU). In July 2007 two hundred and fifty-six out of 353 (72%) students were enrolled in an exploratory, descriptive, crosssectional study and answered a generic HRQL questionnaire, SF-36, and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The scores obtained from the SF-36 of the first, second, third and fourth year students were compared to each other and to sociodemographic variables. The presence of mood disorders (BDI scores greater than fifteen) was compared to the median of the SF-36 scores. The reliability of the internal consistency of the item was tested by Cronbach s alpha coefficient for the SF-36 domains. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to determine the correlation between the domains and components of SF-36 and family income. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare two independent samples and analysis of variance by Kruskal-Wallis posts for comparison between the years of study. The level of significance adopted was p < 0.05. The Cronbach s alpha coefficients obtained from the SF-36 domains were above 0.7, except in the domain of emotional aspects (0.66). Fourth-year students presented lower scores (p<0.05) than those of the other years in the domains of functional capacity, vitality and social aspects, which may be due to the need to write the final course paper, the approaching end of life as a student, and insecurity regarding the job market. Female students presented significantly lower scores in the domains of functional capacity, pain, vitality, social aspects, emotional aspects, mental health and in the mental component, possibly due to physical characteristics and to the accumulation of activities inherent to the female gender. We concluded that undergraduate nursing students at FAMED-UFU presented an impaired HRQL, above all in the fourth-year students, the female students and those with depressive symptoms. Teaching-learning strategies which take into account the well-being of the students and the psychopedagogical care for students with psycho-emotional difficulties should be prioritized by the managers of institutions of higher education.Mestre em Ciências da SaúdeO processo de formação dos estudantes de enfermagem causa estresse, ansiedade e desordens mentais que podem prejudicar o desempenho das atividades curriculares e comprometer a qualidade de vida dos futuros enfermeiros. Este estudo objetivou verificar a qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde (QVRS) dos estudantes do curso de graduação em enfermagem da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (FAMEDUFU). Trata-se de um estudo exploratório, descritivo e transversal em que duzentos e cinqüenta e seis de 353 (72%) alunos matriculados em julho de 2007 responderam um questionário genérico de QVRS, o SF-36, e o Inventário de Depressão de Beck (IDB). Os escores obtidos do SF-36 dos alunos do primeiro, segundo, terceiro e quarto anos foram comparados entre si e com variáveis sócio-demográficas. A presença de transtornos de humor (escores do IDB maiores que quinze) foi comparada com a mediana dos escores do SF-36. Foi testada a confiabilidade da consistência interna do item por meio do coeficiente de alfa-Cronbach para os domínios do SF-36. O coeficiente de correlação de Spearmam foi utilizado para determinar a correlação entre os domínios e componentes do SF-36 e renda familiar. O teste de Mann Whitney para comparação entre duas amostras independentes e análise de variância por postos de Kruskal- Wallis para comparação entre os anos de estudo. O nível de significância adotado foi de p < 0,05. Os coeficientes de alfa-Cronbach obtidos dos domínios do SF-36 foram acima de 0,7, exceto no domínio aspectos emocionais (0,66). Estudantes do quarto ano apresentaram escores menores (p