Medical Science
Volume 25, Issue 115, September 2021
The association between physical activity and burnout among medical students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Abdulrahman M Alothman1♦, Ibrahim Ahmed2, Mohammed A Alfadhel1, Ahmad M Khalaf1
1College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University
(IMSIU), P.O Box 7544, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
2Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Imam
Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia
♦Corresponding author
College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University
(IMSIU), P.O Box 7544, Riyadh,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
ABSTRACT
Background: The prevalence of burnout among physicians is significantly high. Although the cause of burnout is unclear, many have reported that it originally begins during medical school. Burnout has been found to cause lower academic achievements and bad quality of life in addition to poor levels of mental and physical well-being. It was originally reported that physical activity is associated with decreased frequency of burnout events. There are few studies on the connection for both physical training and burnout among medical students. The goal of this research is to see if there's any correlation in both physical training and burnout among medical students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methodology: Maslach's burnout instrument and Baeck's physical activity tool were used in this cross-sectional study on male and female medical students from several medical colleges in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire measured physical activity and burnout levels, as well as the relationship between the two. Results: A total of 411 responses were received, with males accounting for 50.6%. Nearly half of medical students (49%) reported emotional exhaustion at a modest level, while 11.4% reported severe emotional exhaustion. 56% had low physical activity levels whereas 41.6% had moderate physical activity levels, with 2.4% reporting high physical activity levels. Physical activity was shown to be positively correlated with academic efficacy and negatively correlated with emotional exhaustion and cynicism. Conclusion: Medical students in Riyadh had lower levels of burnout and physical activity in comparison to other studies. Physical activity was concluded to have a substantial negative correlation with emotional exhaustion and cynicism, and a positive correlation with academic efficacy.
Keywords: burnout, physical activity, medical student, Saudi Arabia
Medical Science, 2021, 25(115), 2302-2310
