Quality of Life Among Postgraduate Medical Residents in Oman: A Cross-sectional Survey

Objectives: To assess the quality of life (QoL) of medical residents enrolled in the various postgraduate programs of the Oman Medical Specialty Board (OMSB). Methods: The data for this cross-sectional study was collected from January to June 2022. All postgraduate residents who were enrolled in all 19 OMSB training programs were targeted. An online English version of the validated 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) was used to assess the participants’ self-reported QoL. Results: The participants were 425 OMSB residents (mean age = 29.6±2.2 years), of whom 289 (68.0%) were female, 259 (60.9%) were married, and 295 (69.4%) were enrolled in medical specialties. Overall, female residents reported significantly poorer QoL than male residents in all subscales of SF-36 (p =0.001). Married residents reported lower bodily pain scores than unmarried residents (p =0.005), although the latter endorsed better physical functioning, general health, and mental health. Residents in laboratory specialties had higher scores than those in medical and surgical specialties in most QoL dimensions including physical health, role functioning, energy/fatigue, emotional well-being, bodily pain, and general health (p ≤ 0.003). Psychiatry residents reported the lowest overall QoL. Conclusions: Postgraduate medical residents in Oman reported significant variations in QoL based on specialization, gender, and marital status. These findings underscore the need for targeted interventions to tackle health inequalities and improve the QoL of this population.