Prevalence of loneliness among undergraduate medical students at a private medical college: A cross sectional study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Loneliness can affect anyone at any point in their life. It can be detrimental to the wellbeing and quality of life of individuals and communities. Loneliness is defined as an unpleasant experience that derives from deficiencies (qualitative and quantitative) in one’s network of social relationships. The main objective of the study is to Estimate the prevalence of loneliness and to study socio-demographic factors associated with loneliness among undergraduate medical students.

METHODOLOGY: A Cross-sectional study was conducted among third year MBBS students (6th semester) of Narayana Medical College for a period of one month i.e. April 2022 using a validated questionnaire by UCLA Loneliness scale. Data was collected through Google forms, entered in Microsoft Excel, and analyzed using “SPSS Version 25.0” software.

RESULTS: Out of 256 students, 198 students submitted their responses. The mean age of students was 21± 2years. 60.1% (119) were females and 39.9% (79) were males. 89.4% of the study subjects were Hindus, 52% were from town, 75.3% stayed in the hostel, 92.4% belongs to nuclear family.

CONCLUSION: In our study more than half of the students were found to have High loneliness. Therefore, novel interventions using digital platforms that provide a sense of belongingness and enhanced community engagement should be developed.