Abstract
Objective: To compare the presence of intellectual wellness awareness in students of public and private sector
medical colleges in a metropolitan city.
Methods: The cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted from March to November 2011 at Bahria
University Medical and Dental College, Karachi, and overall covered five private and 3 public sector medical colleges of the
city. The study randomly selected 800 medical students. The responses -- never, sometimes, mostly and always (numbered
0-4) - were analysed in terms of frequency, proportion and percentages using Predictive Analysis Software version 18.
Results: Of the 800 forms distributed, 736(92%) completed forms were analysed. Among the respondents, 526 (71.5%)
were females. Besides, 450(61%) belonged to private medical colleges and 236(39) were from public medical colleges.
The participants of private medical colleges had taken part in intellectual discussions actively compared to those from
public colleges (p\u3c0.001). Habit of reading books to acquire knowledge was found in 126(44%) private college
students compared to 149(33%) in public colleges (p\u3c0.004). The importance of creative mental activities (p=0.954)
and current information about local and international affairs (p\u3c0.564) was deficient in both sets of students.
Conclusion: Students of private medical colleges were better in terms of presence of intellectual wellness
awareness, took active participation in class discussions, had good reading habits and carefully selected television programmes and movies
