ArticleBMJ open2026
Psychological self-care, burnout and quality of life among university students in health-related fields across three regions of Thailand.
Article in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
objectivesPublic health students face academic and training pressures as well as challenges arising from patient and community expectations, which may adversely affect their quality of life (QoL) and contribute to burnout and student dropout. This study aimed to examine psychological self-care, burnout and QoL as well as the factors associated with these outcomes among university students.
designA cross-sectional study conducted between January and March 2024.
settingUniversities in northern, southern and northeastern Thailand.
participantsA total of 1426 health-related students aged 18-25 years were recruited using non-probability sampling. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire, which included the Thai version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF instrument (WHOQOL-BREF-THAI), the Maslach Burnout Inventory to assess emotional exhaustion (EE) and cynicism (CY) and a psychological self-care assessment.
resultsMost participants (79.9%) reported a moderate level of QoL. The prevalence of burnout was 18.9%. Pearson's correlation analysis indicated statistically significant relationships between psychological self-care, EE, CY and QoL (all p values<0.001). Multilevel linear regression further highlighted that psychological self-care was significantly associated with sex, academic performance, presence of chronic conditions, smoking and sleep duration. In terms of burnout, EE was significantly linked to chronic conditions, alcohol consumption and cannabis use. CY showed significant associations with academic performance, chronic conditions, alcohol consumption and cannabis use. Additionally, QoL was significantly associated with sex, academic performance, income adequacy, chronic conditions, smoking and cannabis use.
conclusionsGood mental healthcare behaviours and lower levels of burnout are associated with higher QoL among public health students. Universities and programme administrators should implement mental health support strategies, including routine screening, counselling services and self-care promotion, to reduce burnout and improve students' overall well-being.
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