Self-care among Medical Students, Cairo University

AbdelMoaty, Alshaimaa Mohamed; Kamel, Laila Mahmoud; Emeash, Aya Hosny; Elsebaie, Eman Hany

doi:10.21608/ejcm.2023.231493.1268

Self-care among Medical Students, Cairo University

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

² Public Health and Community Medicine department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

10.21608/ejcm.2023.231493.1268

Abstract

Background: Self-care is the base of the healthcare pyramid. Medical students and healthcare providers play an essential role in disseminating self-care culture among their communities in addition to its importance for them as they live through stressful lives. The objective of the current study was to assess medical students’ knowledge, health literacy, attitude, practice, perception of self-care, and the factors influencing them. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done between August and October 2022. A total 277 medical students from the first to sixth grades were included. Participants were approached through different social media platforms. Data were collected using an online self-administrated questionnaire. Results: The age ranged between 18 and 26 years. Approximately 61% of the students were females. More than 90% of the students were in the middle and upper middle social classes. The mean scores were 66.7+21.8 for knowledge, 74.9+21.7 for health literacy, 78.4+14.6 for attitude, 60.9+14.4 for practice, and 77.1+18.4 for perception. The mean score for health promotion activities among participants was highest for spiritual and lowest for psychological aspects. Practice score was significantly higher among females and those in clinical years and lower among those with chronic disease. Practice and health literacy scores were higher among students of higher social class. Conclusions: Our study highlights that the attitude and perception of self-care as future healthcare workers were generally positive, and the knowledge and health literacy were good. Self-care practice still needs more effort to improve, especially in psychological and physical aspects.

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