title: Perceived Social Support as a Determinant of Quality of Life Among Medical Students: 6-Month Follow-up Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This longitudinal study aimed to identify the relevant factors related to quality of life (QoL) changes in medical students.
  
  
  METHODS
  For this 6-month follow-up study, we enrolled 109 students from a Korean medical school. To assess students' QoL, we used the World Health Organization QoL scale. Possible determinants of student QoL included demographics, fatigue, and social support. A stepwise multivariate analysis identified factors associated with changes of student QoL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among sources of support, the "friends" category was the main position affecting their overall QoL, and "significant other" had the strongest influence on psychological and social domains. The impact of support from friends on QoL was confirmed in the longitudinal analysis. Final regression models revealed that providing students with more social support and promoting fatigue reduction best improved medical student sense of well-being.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Creating stronger student support programs to prevent social detachment and implementing strategies to reduce fatigue can improve QoL in medical students.
authors.affiliation: Gachon University School of Medicine, Incheon, South Korea.
authors.forename: In Cheol
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Gachon University School of Medicine, Incheon, South Korea. ghpark@gachon.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Kwi Hwa
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Gachon University School of Medicine, Incheon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Joo
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Gachon University School of Medicine, Incheon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yim
authors.affiliation: Gachon University School of Medicine, Incheon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Kwang Pil
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.affiliation: Gachon University School of Medicine, Incheon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.affiliation: Gachon University School of Medicine, Incheon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sun Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kyung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012944:Social Support; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Medical students; Quality of life; Social support