Relationship between life satisfaction and quality of life in Turkish nursing school students

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between life satisfaction and quality of life of nursing students. This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with a research population of 396 nursing students who received education at a school of nursing. The research data were collected between May and June of the 2007-2008 academic year. The data collection tools included Student Description Form, Life Satisfaction Scale, and WHOQOL-BREF (TR) Quality of Life (QOL) Scale. The mean score of life satisfaction was 22.90 +/- 5.74. Participants' QOL mean scores were 67.16 +/- 15.29 in the physical domain, 64.33 +/- 14.72 in the psychological domain, 62.81 +/- 19.12 in the social relationships domain, and 60.59 +/- 12.59 in the environmental domain. There was a significant correlation between life satisfaction and the four main domains of quality of life scores (P<0.05) and that there was a significant positive correlation between life satisfaction and quality of life among nursing students. In addition, it was determined that being a nursing student had a positive effect on students' life satisfaction and quality of life. Therefore, the education system is recommended to be redesigned in such a way as to make students more active and to improve their life satisfaction and quality of life.