A comparison on the rate and severity of fatigue in male and female students of Jiroft University of Medical Sciences and presenting appropriate solutions

Fatigue is a common symptom and one of the most important issues in community psychology. This study aimed to compare the rate and severity of fatigue in male and female students of Jiroft University of Medical Sciences and to present appropriate solutions. This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 200 students who were selected randomly at Jiroft University of Medical Sciences on 2013. The data were collected through demographic characteristics and two standard questionnaires: MFI-20 and FSS for measuring the rate and severity of fatigue, respectively. The data were analyzed by SPSS 15, using statistical t-test with 95% (α=0.05) coefficient interval. Based on the findings, the mean and standard deviation (SD) of students’ age was 3.75±20.63 years, 67.7% of them (n=135) were female and 32.3% (n=65) were male. The mean and SD of the rate and severity of students’ fatigue were 3.68±1.24 and 51.22±12.16, respectively. Also, total fatigue of female students (53.16±12.57)was significantly higher than the male (47.15±10.19) (p=0.001). The rate and severity of fatigue in students of Jiroft University of Medical Sciences especially in female students were high. Therefore, the university officials as well as the students should plan and apply appropriate strategies to reduce students’ costs, modify educational system, decrease the burden of educational courses, change students’ life style, regulate students’ sleep-wake cycle, and use time and resources effectively.