Objective: To compare risk factors related to medical students' failure based on gender, year of study and living away from home.
Methods: The cross-sectional, non-interventional, comparative study was conducted at a private medical college of Islamabad, Pakistan from 2015 to 2017, and comprised students who had even once scored <50% marks in their professional examinations. Data was collected using a questionnaire that was scored on a five-point Likert scale. Data was analyzed using SPSS 23.
Results: Of the 115 students, 62(52%) were day scholars compared to 55(48%) hostellers; 64(56%) were females compared to 51(44%) males; and 50(43%) belonged to the second year. Overall, differences in terms of gender, year of study and living away from home were not significant (p>0.05).
Conclusions: Risk factors for poor academic performance were found to be common among all students.
Keywords: Risk factors, Academic failure, College, Medical students, Medical sciences student, Living conditions, Gender differences, Perceptions..