Assessment of the relationship between the educational environment and academic performance of undergraduate medical students of Azad Kashmir

Objective: To assess the relationship between the educational environment and academic performance of undergraduate medical students of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Method: The cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2018 to September 2019 at Poonch Medical College, Rawalakot, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and comprised undergraduate medical students of either gender from first to fifth year of studies. Data was collected using the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure questionnaire which was distributed electronically to the students. The percentage of scores achieved in the last professional examination was taken as the academic performance, and it was corelated with the questionnaire's subscale scores. Data was analysed using SPSS 23. Results: Of the 500 students approached, 324(64.8%) returned the questionnaire fully completed; 92(28.4%) males and 232(71.6%) females. The largest group was from the third year of studies 108(33.3%). The mean questionnaire score was 96.31 +/- 18.47 and it was not significantly correlated with academic performance (p>0.05). The subdomain mean scores were also not significantly correlated with academic performance (p>0.05). Academic performance was significantly higher among females compared to males (p=0.002). Conclusion: There was found a huge scope for improvement of the educational environment.