Volunteering Activity as A Source of Life Satisfaction among Medical and Dental Students of Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Community Service is an integral component of undergraduate medical education. A volunteer is an individual who, without pay, reaches out beyond the confines of their normal responsibilities; freely and willingly contribute in different ways. Volunteering and serving others can help decrease tension, mentally empower volunteers and offer purpose in life. This study aimed to assess the motivation behind volunteering activities among medical students. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted comprised of a total of 450 students of different private and government sector medical colleges of Karachi, Pakistan. A volunteer functional inventory (VFI) questionnaire was used for the study. Predictability of motivation behind volunteerism was analyzed by student’s t-test through SPSS software. Results: Out of the 450 participants in this study, 286(64%) of respondents were found to be volunteers and 164(36%) were non-volunteers, the largest respondents constituting 154 (66.7%) had been volunteering for 1-5 months, 63(14%) spent time in volunteering for 6-10 months. It was found that 228(50%) of the students were influenced by their friends to start the act of volunteering. About 72(42%) of respondents were involved in community volunteering in health and emergency services. The various variables of the motivation (protective factor, value factor, career factor, social factor, understanding factor and enhancement factor) among medical students were determined significant (p< 0.05). Conclusion: Medical students can effectively contribute in the training and healthcare initiatives. To the best of our knowledge, the involvement of healthcare volunteering is beneficial both at a personal and academic level for medical students. Keywords: Community Service; Depression; Health; Medical Emergencies; Stress.