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Copyright of Western Anatolia Journal of Educational Sciences (WAJES) / Batı Anadolu Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi is the property of Dokuz Eylul University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

While patient engagement in healthcare professions education (HPE) has significantly increased in the past decades, a theoretical gap remains. What are the varied reasons as to why patients get involved with HPE programs? With a focus on understanding what drives patient involvement with HPE programs, this study examined how a patient as teacher (PAT) program was experienced by medical students, patient teachers, and faculty within a medical school. Through a phenomenographic approach, this study captures and describes the different ways our study participants experienced a PAT program (the 'phenomenon'). 24 semi-structured interviews were conducted in total, comprised of interviews with patient teachers (N = 10), medical students (N = 10) and program facilitators (N = 4) who participated in a PAT program. Our focus was on participants' description of the program and was grounded in their experiences of as well as their beliefs about it. Our findings captured 4 layers representing the qualitatively different (yet interrelated) ways in which participants experienced/perceived and conceptualized the various aspects of their experience with the PAT program: (1) A productive disruption of the learning space (2) A re-humanization within healthcare (3) A means of empowerment and agency (4) A catalyst for change and emancipation. Our outcome space results can be visually illustrated by a nesting "Matryoshka" doll, representing the four layers and depicting the process of uncovering the less conscious layers of sense-making within this phenomenon. HPE programs that are co-produced with patients and actively involve patients as teachers have the potential, but not guarantee, to be emancipatory. To engage in PAT programs that exhibit an emancipatory potential, we need to consider transformative paradigms of education, which are aligned with social change, and disrupt the traditional teacher-learner hierarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annali di Igiene, Medicina Preventiva e di Comunità is the property of Societa Editrice Universo s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Exploring the intersections of CTE and STEM education may foster interest in critical rural biomedical careers beginning in elementary school. Starting early to develop career awareness may be essential and take advantage of the flexibility that rural schools can provide. This study provides a theoretical foundation for rural biomedical education efforts and measures impact of an elementary biomedical intervention. Results show an increase in career aspirations and self-efficacy while maintaining high levels of student interest. In addition, student interest is found as the primary driver of career aspirations. Overall, the study shares one effective educational path to enable students to become aware of and develop an interest in biomedical careers present in their community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of the research is to determine the nutrition literacy level and food safety awareness level of students who studied at faculty of health sciences. This descriptive study also demonstrates university students' nutrition literacy statuses, food safety attitudes, nutritional statuses, and food preferences. Methods: The research was conducted as a descriptive and cross-sectional survey study in order to determine the nutrition literacy level and food safety awareness level of the students. Two hundred and eight individuals, including 174 women and 34 men, participated in the study. The data were obtained from face-to-face and online interviews then they were analyzed in a software. The survey is consisted of three parts: socio-demographic form, Evaluation Instrument of Nutrition Literacy on Adults and the Food Safety Attitude scale. Results: In this study, the majority of the participants studied in the department of nutrition and dietetics (55.29%) and audiology (26.92%), followed by health management (7.21%), physiology and rehabilitation (5.77%), nursing (4.33%) and social work (0.48%) department. The relationship between nutrition literacy and food safety among the students of the faculty of health sciences was significant (p < 0.01). Conclusions: This study showed that the nutrition literacy level was sufficient and the food safety attitude was positive in university students. However, it is needed to prospective studies to understand the importance of nutrition literacy and food safety awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains the influence of transformational leadership on the performance of Health Sciences College Lecturers (STIKES) in Riau Province. As a university, it can organize academic, professional and/or vocational programs, so it is required to have good performance. It is possible to improve the low performance of STIKES lecturers in Riau Province with the role of transformational leadership from the leadership elements at the university. This research uses quantitative methods with descriptive techniques by testing certain theories by analyzing the relationships between measured variables, usually using research tools consisting of numbers and analyzed according to statistical procedures. The scope of this research is in the field of human resource/HR management, especially performance, namely the performance of STIKES lecturers in Riau. The population in this research is all lecturers who teach at STIKES in Riau, totaling 183 people spread across 7 STIKES, with the criteria for lecturers who make up the population being permanent lecturers who already have a functional position and have a minimum of a Master's degree. Of the 183 STIKES lecturers in Riau who were sampled, 127 were lecturers because they met the criteria as permanent lecturers and had functional positions, 50 lecturers did not have functional positions, and 6 lecturers were still undergraduates, so they were excluded from the population. The research results show that there is an influence of transformational leadership on lecturers' performance when they lead charismatically, motivate, inspire, intellectual stimulus and individual attention to the lecturers' performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to dissatisfaction with testing cultures in higher education, programmatic assessment has been introduced as an alternative approach. Programmatic assessment involves the longitudinal collection of data points about student learning, aimed at continuous monitoring and feedback. High-stakes decisions are based on a multitude of data points, involving aggregation, saturation and group-decision making. Evidence about the value of programmatic assessment is emerging in health sciences education. However, research also shows that students find it difficult to take an active role in the assessment process and seek feedback. Lower performing students are underrepresented in research on programmatic assessment, which until now mainly focuses on health sciences education. This study therefore explored low and high performing students' experiences with learning and decision-making in programmatic assessment in relation to their feedback-seeking behaviour in a Communication Sciences program. In total, 55 students filled out a questionnaire about their perceptions of programmatic assessment, their feedback-seeking behaviour and learning performance. Low-performing and high-performing students were selected and interviewed. Several designable elements of programmatic assessment were distinguished that promote or hinder students' feedback-seeking behaviour, learning and uptake of feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Health Bulletin / Zdravstveni Glasnik is the property of Faculty of Health Studies, University of Mostar and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In an effort to offer a more focussed and competency-based approach to faculty development for newly appointed academics, this study prioritised the roles of the medical teacher, focussing on orientation initiatives. At a research-led university, we used 15 roles of a medical teacher. Health science academics were asked which professional development activities should be available to newly appointed educators with reference to teaching-learning and research development. Quantitative and descriptive research were followed, using a self-administered questionnaire which was completed by 129/256 (50%) health science academics. The top five roles were ranked as follows: Role Model for Students (83.6%); Information Provider in the Classroom (82.8%); Facilitator of Learning (78.1%); Information Provider in the Clinical Setting (75.0%); and Assessor of Student Learning (74.4%). Although research development was ranked important, respondents indicated that it should receive attention at a later stage and not necessarily during orientation. Academics (90.6%) indicated that professional career development should be individualised. Faculty development should encourage gradual development over time, addressing all the roles of the academic, including research. At different institutions, various roles are considered important; and institutional research should be done to guide faculty development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Many researchers have reported that vitamin D can affect brain development as well as brain function. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the Saudi population is 81% and it is more among women than among men. Though many studies have been done to find out the factors influencing the academic performance of Health sciences students, there is not adequate evidence regarding the influence of vitamin D level on academic performance. Therefore, this study aims to find out the association if any, between the vitamin D level and academic performance of health sciences students. Design/methodology/approach: After obtaining the ethical committee approval, the data was collected from 86 female medical students, 70 female applied medical sciences students and 57 nursing students of Northern Border University. The detailed questionnaire contained the aim of the study, demographic characteristics and academic performance predictors such as self-efficacy, academic motivation, academic engagement and social engagement. The vitamin D levels were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) machine (BioTek) which is available in the local hospital. The multiple linear regression analysis was used to find out the association between vitamin D levels and academic performance. Findings: This study showed that vitamin D level had a significant association with the overall performance of the students as well as their self-efficacy. Research limitations/implications: Since there is a lot of stress among health sciences students due to subject overload and inadequacy of time, the health aspects are often overlooked. This study emphasizes the importance of early screening of vitamin D levels and early intervention in those with low vitamin D levels for better academic performance. Social implications: There is very little awareness of the impact of vitamin D deficiency on academic motivation, academic engagement, social engagement and self-efficacy among medical and health sciences students. This study can increase awareness. Originality/value: There are very few studies done to find out the association between Vitamin D level and academic performance. This study is unique as it has highlighted the association between vitamin D level and grade point average (GPA) and also the association between vitamin D level and academic predictors such as self-efficacy, academic motivation, academic engagement and social engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Izmir Katip Celebi University Faculty of Health Sciences Journal / İzmir Katip Çelebi Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Izmir Katip Celebi University, Faculty of Health Sciene Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Authentic assessment is revered to support student learning, but it is typically described within the context of work-integrated learning and professional schools, leaving one to question whether a classroom-based curriculum can offer authentic assessments. This study documented the prevalence of authentic assessments throughout a complete health science undergraduate curriculum in accordance with the four core dimensions of authentic assessment: realism, cognitive challenge, evaluative judgement criteria and feedback. Using a literature-informed authentic assessment tool and institutionally standardized course syllabi, 455 assessments in 62 courses were classified as low, moderate or high on core authentic assessment dimensions. Results show that few assessments scored high across all core dimensions (<1% of all assessments), as there was considerable variability across dimensions. Feedback had the weakest dimensional authenticity score. Authentic assessments were more prevalent within upper-year, small capstone courses, although they were not precluded from early-year, large classrooms. Assignments were significantly more authentic than tests, though tests were more dominant in the curriculum (63% marks from tests versus 37% from assignments). This work serves as a model for others seeking to review assessments in their curriculum and provides evidence from a large, representative BSc program to make practical recommendations to promote authenticity of assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Given the importance of the selection process, many medical schools are reviewing their selection criteria. The traditional pathway for post-graduate medicine has been from science-based undergraduate degrees, however some programs are expanding their criteria. In this study we investigated academic success across all years and themes of the Deakin University medical degree, based on the type of degree undertaken prior to admission. We evaluated whether the traditional pathway of biomedical science into medicine should remain the undergraduate degree of choice, or whether other disciplines should be encouraged. Methods: Data from 1159 students entering the degree from 2008 to 2016 was collected including undergraduate degree, grade point average (GPA), Graduate Medical Schools Admission Test (GAMSAT) score and academic outcomes during the 4 years of the degree. Z-scores were calculated for each assessment within each cohort and analysed using a one sample t-test to determine if they differed from the cohort average. Z-scores between groups were analysed by 1-way ANOVA with LSD post-hoc analysis correcting for multiple comparisons. Results: The majority of students had Science (34.3%) or Biomedical Science (31.0%) backgrounds. 27.9% of students had a Health-related undergraduate degree with smaller numbers of students from Business (3.5%) and Humanities (3.4%) backgrounds. At entry, GPA and GAMSAT scores varied significantly with Biomedical Science and Science students having significantly higher scores than Health students. Health students consistently outperformed students from other disciplines in all themes while Biomedical Science students underperformed. Conclusions: Our data suggest that a Health-related undergraduate degree results in the best performance throughout medical school, whereas a Biomedical Science background is associated with lower performance. These findings challenge the traditional Biomedical Science pathway into medicine and suggest that a health background might be more favourable when determining the selection criteria for graduate entry into medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Problem based learning (PBL) has many benefits; however, research on PBL indicates that students are not quite good at integrating knowledge in basic sciences and clinical aspects. Case-based learning (CBL) might be an alternative method to enhance the integration of this knowledge. No research explored the way these two methods stimulate cognitive skills. This study aimed to explore the differences between PBL and CBL in stimulating cognitive skill by analyzing verbal interaction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive research was performed at the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Islam Indonesia (FM UII). Twenty-one undergraduate students contributed voluntarily to this study. The students were then split up randomly into a PBL Group (n=10) and a CBL group (n=11). Each group performed twice discussion meetings facilitated by an experienced tutor. The discussion processes were video recorded and analyzed using a coding scheme categorizing the verbal interaction into five types: cumulative reasoning, exploratory questioning, procedural interaction, handling conflict about knowledge, off-task/irrelevant interactions. RESULTS: Students in both PBL and CBL groups spent most of their time-sharing cumulative reasoning and then asking exploratory question. Students in the PBL group were more frequently asking exploratory questions. Students in both groups rarely handled conflict about knowledge since it was a high order thinking skill. Students in the CBL group were more frequent than the PBL group in performing procedural interaction. CONCLUSIONS: Students performed various cognitive skills in both PBL and CBL. Each method has its own strengths in stimulating reasoning skills of students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of cost and value can inform educational decision making, yet our understanding of the barriers to such research is incomplete. To address this gap, our aim was to explore the attitudes of global thought leaders in HPE towards cost and value research. This was a qualitative virtual interview study underpinned by social constructionism. In telephone or videoconference interviews in 2018–2019, we asked global healthcare professional thought leaders their views regarding HPE cost and value research, outstanding research questions in this area and why addressing these questions was important. Analysis was inductive and thematic, and incorporated review and comments from the original interviewees (member checking). We interviewed 11 thought leaders, nine of whom gave later feedback on our data interpretation (member checking). We identified four themes: Cost research is really important but potentially risky (quantifying and reporting costs provides evidence for decision-making but could lead to increased accountability and loss of autonomy); I don't have the knowledge and skills (lack of economic literacy); it's not what I went into education research to do (professional identity); and it's difficult to generate generalizable findings (the importance of context). This study contributes to a wider conversation in the literature about cost and value research by bringing in the views of global HPE thought leaders. Our findings provide insight to inform how best to engage and empower educators and researchers in the processes of asking and answering meaningful, acceptable and relevant cost and value questions in HPE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the field of robots in medical education, most of the work done during the last years has focused on surgeon training in robotic surgery, practicing surgery procedures through simulators. Apart from surgical education, robots have also been widely employed in assistive and rehabilitation procedures, where education has traditionally focused in the patient. Therefore, there has been extensive review bibliography in the field of medical robotics focused on surgical and rehabilitation and assistive robots, but there is a lack of survey papers that explore the potential of robotics in the education of healthcare students and professionals beyond their training in the use of the robotic system. The scope of the current review are works in which robots are used as didactic tools for the education of professionals in health sciences, investigating the enablers and barriers that affect the use of robots as learning facilitators. Systematic literature searches were conducted in WOS and Scopus, yielding a total of 3812 candidate papers. After removing duplicates, inclusion criteria were defined and applied, resulting in 171 papers. An in-depth quality assessment was then performed leading to 26 papers for qualitative synthesis. Results show that robots in health sciences education are still developed with a roboticist mindset, without clearly incorporating aspects of the teaching/learning process. However, they have proven potential to be used in health sciences as they allow to parameterize procedures, autonomously guide learners to achieve greater engagement, or enable collective learning including patients and instructors "in the loop". Although there exist documented added-value benefits, further research and efforts needs to be done to foster the inclusion of robots as didactic tools in the curricula of health sciences professionals. On the one hand, by analyzing how robotic technology should be developed to become more flexible and usable to support both teaching and learning processes in health sciences education, as final users are not necessarily well-versed in how to use it. On the other, there continues to be a need to develop effective and standard robotic enhanced learning evaluation tools, as well good quality studies that describe effective evaluation of robotic enhanced education for professionals in health sciences. As happens with other technologies when applied to the health sciences field, studies often fail to provide sufficient detail to support transferability or direct future robotic health care education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faculty members' beliefs can affect the trajectories of internationalization activities at a university. This study aimed to use metaphor analysis to discover Iranian faculty members' beliefs about the internationalization of education at a medical sciences university. To collect data, a qualitative research design was adopted and interviews were conducted with the faculty members. The analysis of the interviews resulted in the discovery of 19 metaphors which were condensed into five themes of clinical culture, a road map for change, challenges, promotion, and links and relations. The faulty members particularly called for considerations for context-specific clinical setting conduct, urged a reform in the education system so as to include international and intercultural components in the medical education curricula, preferred the scientific and cultural reasons to the political and economic rationales for internationalization, described learning the local language and dialect as necessary for international medical students as they need to communicate with local patients and hospital staff, and viewed internationalization as an opportunity for the university to expand its health tourism industry. The findings have practical implications for medical sciences universities that aim to become an international educational institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Students of medical sciences are a highly vulnerable group during COVID-19 pandemic who may experience a wide range of challenges and stresses. The aim of this study was to investigate the perceived challenges caused by COVID-19 outbreak in students of medical sciences. Materials and Methods: A qualitative study was carried out based on conventional qualitative content analysis following Graneheim and Lundman from December 2020 to February 2021. The participants were 17 students of medical sciences and data gathering was done through semistructured interviews. Results: Data analyses revealed 5 categories and 12 subcategories. The extracted categories were perceived fear of contracting coronavirus, social limitation, changes in education, neglecting health protocols, and worrying news and information overload. Conclusions: The findings indicated that students of medical sciences had been facing challenges and the COVID-19 had affected the psychological, social, and academic functioning of the health-care students. It is important to take measures to improve their mental health. These measures can prevent medical complications in these students, especially during clinical internship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent online mode of education have challenged the national educational system and higher education. Thus, the present research aimed to explore students' experience of the advantages and disadvantages of online education at Bandar Abbas University of medical sciences during the pandemic. The present qualitative research conducted a content analysis of 26 nursing students' experiences. The sampling method was purposive. Unstructured face-to-face interviews were conducted with participants of the study to collect the required data. The interview protocol was followed. The required social distance was kept, and the ethical code was adhered to. The participants were interviewed as already arranged at a place of convenience. The interviews took between 40 and 60 minutes, depending on the immediate condition. The data collection continued until data saturation. The data analysis led to the extraction of 5 themes and 8 categories, including teacher-student miscommunication, student-student miscommunication, evaluation issues, anxiety, distancing from active learning, materials/sources, lack of physical attendance, non-educational activities, and 22 subcategories. The present findings could help professors and education authorities to better understand students' expected learning and the challenges of online education. They could, thus, be better aware of the existing barriers and could better plan to remove them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for online and distance education has expanded dramatically around the world since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in early 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted teaching in a variety of institutions, especially in medical schools. Electronic learning (e-learning) became the core method of teaching the curriculum during the pandemic. To evaluate student's satisfaction and to find the advantages versus disadvantages of online learning of physiology subject from student's perceptions during pandemic a qualitative analytical research designed, which carried out in Kabul University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) on sophomore students of stomatology, in this research a self-administered questionnaire was used for collecting data. After 3 weeks of only online teaching, this survey was conducted; data gathered from the survey were analyzed with routine statistical software. 48 sophomore students of stomatology faculty of KUMS answered the questions, which indicated that 72.9% of students were strongly support online learning via Google classroom, and 25% of students were moderately support and 2% of students were not support online learning via GC. And according student's perceptions, avoiding of time wastage, usability of learning material everywhere any time, and learning how to use technology is the advantages of online learning, and low internet speed with high cost, disability of practical works are the disadvantages of online learning of physiology subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health care systems need reforms in the process of education to performance. Reforms with a targeted educational and medical perspective that will permeate all effective health care systems and evidence-based medicine is considered a practical method in the development of health care and treatment in the world. This approach will be effective during its lifetime in the education of medical sciences, on the quality of education, on the quality of education, from the beginning of the education of health and medical sciences until the lifetime of the educators. The present study is a systematic review by searching in Iranian databases such as: SID, Iranmedex, Magiran, foreign databases such as: Uptodate, Pubmed, Scopous during the years 2019 to 2022 with keywords; Evidence-based medicine, evidence-based education, evidence-based practice, evidence-based learning, evidence-based care, educational quality, medical science education are searched. Evidence-based medicine in line with its longevity in medical sciences still needs a fundamental review in healthcare and treatment, many studies have stated the lack of use of evidence-based medicine and obstacles to its implementation in their results. However, the growing trend of using evidence-based medicine is not significant and requires inductive impulses to implement, apply and use and evaluate its effects. Evidence-based medical education and its effects have been clearly studied, but micro and macro policies in its implementation and application require a fundamental review so that the process of education, learning, performance and care is the most favorable process of growth and development in the body. Go through the educational and research system of medical sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Musculoskeletal pain is a common health issue reported among young adults. Nevertheless, there is limited research data on lower back and neck pain among undergraduate students in the health sciences field in Malaysia. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of lower back and neck pain among health sciences undergraduate students and identify the associated factors of lower back and neck pain. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 330 health sciences students in a public university in Selangor, Malaysia. The symptoms of lower back and neck pain were assessed using the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to estimate odds ratio (OR) for the associations between the factors and the lower back and neck pain. Results: The prevalence of lower back and neck pain during the last 12 months were found to be relatively high, at 63.3% and 53.6%, respectively. The data revealed that gender, year of study, and programme of study were significantly associated with lower back pain. Male and the Nutrition and Dietetics programme students were less likely to have lower back pain, while students in the third year were more likely to have lower back pain. Meanwhile, only programme was significantly associated with neck pain, whereby students from the Optometry and Physiotherapy programmes were more likely to have neck pain. Conclusion: Lower back and neck pain were considered prevalent among health sciences undergraduate students in this university. Intervention strategies to reduce the pain among students should target these demographic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Given the dramatic expansion of e-learning in the world and also its increasing use in Iranian universities and considering the fundamental role of students in educational systems, it is necessary to further study the structure of their knowledge and attitude in using e-learning method. The present study was designed to determine the level of satisfaction with virtual education among the students of Larestan University of Medical Sciences in 2021. Methods: The present study is a survey conducted in 2021 on students at Larestan University of Medical Sciences. The sample size was 132 people. Available (convenient) sampling method was used for sampling. A researcher-made questionnaire (Content Validity Ratio=0.99, Cronbach's alpha reliability=0.82) was used to collect data on the students' satisfaction with virtual learning. SPSS software version 25 and independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance were used for statistical analysis. Results: Out of 132 students participating in the present study, 88 (67.70%) were girls. The only correlation was between the students' semester and the total satisfaction score, where the higher the student's semester, the lower their satisfaction was (P=0.002). The overall mean score of satisfaction with virtual learning was 3.02±0.84. Conclusion: In general, due to the significant expansion of virtual education around the world, despite the short life of those efforts to improve the facilities and infrastructure of hardware and network, paying attention to the diversity and appeal of training using diverse solutions, providing appropriate content based on the results of needs assessments, and more interactions between professors and students can lead to the development of this type of education and maximize student satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To look into the experience of undergraduate medical and health sciences students regarding perceptions of online formative assessments. Study Design: Online cross-sectional survey. Place and Duration of Study: Riphah International University, Islamabad Pakistan, from Aug to Dec 2020. Methodology: Three hundred fifty-one pre-clinical and clinical students of disciplines including MBBS, BDS, and Pharm-D participated in the study. Data was collected through a convenient sampling technique. An online questionnaire containing 22 closed-ended questions with a three-point Likert scale on five themes related to online formative assessments and one openended question was used. Results: 86 (24.5%) students agreed that online formative assessments improved their learning. The motivation for learning was increased in 120 (34.2%) students. 214 (61%) students felt that online formative assessments were stressful, and the majority were well aware of the use of technology except for connectivity and login issues highlighted by the students. Regarding the question paper, the majority were comfortable with the construct of online formatives. 158 (45%) students were not satisfied with the allotted time to complete the formative assessments. 163 (46.4%) students were satisfied with the feedback provided, yet 258 (73.5%) students recommended formal feedback provided on the same day to improve their learning by knowing their deficiencies. Conclusion: The study results support the contention that well-designed online formative assessments have considerable untapped potential to assist learning by motivating students. Their problems and challenges need to be addressed to improve the online assessments that help in the learning of undergraduate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lecture capture is a technology where live lectures are recorded in a digital format and made available to students to view at their convenience. The use of this technology in higher education has steadily increased despite mixed results as to whether it is beneficial to student achievement. The current study utilized a two-group quasi-experimental design to examine the impact of lecture capture availability on academic performance in a large enrollment, two-term, second year biomedical science course. Academic performance was compared between two matched cohorts enrolled in the same biomedical science course taught by the same instructor in which one course did not have access to lecture recordings (2017–18 academic year, N = 433) and the other did (2018–19 academic year, N = 414). Academic performance was evaluated by comparing scores on identical exam questions and the final grade earned in the course. Student's t-test revealed that lecture capture availability resulted in a decline in performance on exams and the final course grade. We also evaluated whether lecture capture influenced student attendance via an in-class student response system and a t-test found that student attendance was comparable between the cohorts. A chi-squared test also found that lecture capture availability resulted in significantly more course failures. Importantly, a student's t-test showed that GPA did not differ between the cohorts. To our knowledge this is the first study to show that lecture capture availability resulted in a decline in academic performance despite similar in-class attendance and GPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Education plays a pivotal role in producing qualified human power that accelerates economic development and solves the real problems of a community. Students are also expected to spend much of their time on their education and need to graduate with good academic results. However, the trend of graduating students is not proportional to the trend of enrolled students and an increasing number of students commit readmission, suggesting that they did not perform well in their academics. Thus, the study aimed to identify the determinants of academic performance among university students in Southern Ethiopia. Method: Institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from December 1 to 28, 2020. A total of 659 students were enrolled and data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. A multistage sampling technique was applied to select study participants. Data were cleaned and entered into Epi-Data version 4.6 and exported to SPSS version 25 software for analysis. Bivariable and multivariable data analysis were computed and a p-value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Smoking, age, and field of study were significantly associated with academic performance. Result: Four hundred six (66%) of students had a good academic performance. Students aged between 20 and 24 years (AOR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.22-0.91), and medical/ health faculty (AOR = 2.46, 95% CI = 1.45-4.20) were significant associates of good academic performance. Students who didn't smoke cigarettes were three times more likely to score good academic grades compared to those who smoke (AOR = 3.15, 95% CI = 1.21-7.30). Conclusion: In this study, increased odds of good academic performance were observed among students reported to be non-smokers, adults, and medical/health science students. Reduction or discontinuation of smoking is of high importance for good academic achievement among these target groups. The academic environment in the class may be improved if older students are invited to share their views and particularly their ways of reasoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: During the COVID‐19 pandemic, college students can access health‐related information on the Internet to improve preventative behaviors, but they often judge the merits of such information and create challenges in the community. The aim of this study was to investigate information‐seeking behaviors in regard to COVID‐19 among students at Kerman University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) with the help of mass and social media. Methods: The present study is a cross‐sectional study, which was conducted using an online researcher‐made questionnaire. An invitation to participate in the study was sent to 500 students at KUMS, of which 203 were selected according to the inclusion criteria and completed the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: COVID‐19 news was mostly obtained through social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, radio, and television, as well as online publications and news agencies. Social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, and satellite networks such as BBC contained the most rumors about COVID‐19. Some of the most common misconceptions regarding COVID‐19 were as follows: "COVID‐19 is the deadliest disease in the world," "COVID‐19 is a biological attack," and "COVID‐19 disappears as the air temperature rises." In addition, most of the virtual training provided through mass media focused on "refraining from visiting holy places and crowded locations such as markets," "observing personal hygiene and refraining from touching the eyes, nose, and mouth with infected hands," and "the role of quarantine in reducing the incidence of COVID‐19." Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that during the pandemic, students used social media platforms the most to obtain health‐related information and these media have a significant impact on their willingness to engage in preventative behaviors and take the COVID‐19 risk seriously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to compare medical and social sciences students' outcomes in terms of self-perceived stress, quality of life, and personality traits. We put particular emphasis on external and internal differences in students of specific fields–medicine, nursing, psychology, and pedagogy. In a survey, 1,783 students from Medical University of Gdańsk and University of Gdańsk participated in our study, of whom 1,223 were included in the final statistical analysis. All of them were evaluated using valid and reliable questionnaires–TIPI-PL, PSS-10, and a one-item scale of quality of life. Stress turned out to have a negative effect on quality of life, regardless of the type of field of study. Moreover, students from different fields varied in terms of personality factors: conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness to experience, and emotional stability. In conclusion, many students regardless of their field suffer from high stress and report low quality of life, which potentially further affects their academic performance and social life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Early clinical exposure (ECE) is that teaching-learning methodology, in which the medical students are exposed to the patients much before their clinical postings, i.e., as early as the first year of medical college. Early clinical exposure (ECE) was recently introduced into the medical curriculum to bridge the gap between preclinical and clinical departments and help the students correlate the basic science teaching with clinical concepts. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to analyse the perception of students towards the introduction of Early clinical exposure in Physiology. Methods: The study was undertaken in the Department of Physiology. The study was conducted after obtaining institutional ethical clearance and consent from all the participants. A total of 115 first phase undergraduate medical students volunteered to participate in the study. Students' perception about ECE was collected through their feedbacks using a pre-validated questionnaire containing both closed and open type of questions on ECE. Discussion: Students agreed that ECE is a more interesting method, helped correlate physiology with a clinical case and understand the importance of learning Physiology. Students showed a positive response towards introducing ECE in their new curriculum. Conclusion: We concluded that the students exposed to early clinical exposure sessions benefited more than those exposed to traditional learning only. We expect ECE will definitely create more interest in the medical students as future doctors and motivate them to think beyond the physiology classrooms, reading the disease process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and hypothesis: Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) is common in women but few seek medical attention. Poor recognition of the condition as pathological and unawareness of treatments may account for low consultation rates. Methods: This cross-sectional study was based on an online survey that was responded to in February and March 2020 by 768 female university students. Knowledge of PFD was assessed using the Prolapse and Incontinence Knowledge Questionnaire (PIKQ). Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using IBM-SPSS (V26.0). Results: Respondents had poor knowledge of PFD and especially of pelvic organ prolapse. Health science students (n = 531; 69.1%) obtained significantly higher scores (p < 0.001) than other students (n = 237; 30.9%). Those who had received information on how to perform pelvic floor muscle training were more likely to score higher than those who had not received previous information. Conclusions: While health science students have better knowledge of PFD than other students, university students in general are little aware of PFD. Most students considered the issue of PFD to be important and wanted more information. Our findings may be useful in planning strategies to raise women's awareness of PFD and its prevention and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Identity formation is regarded as the most important issue during adolescence. The present study aimed to assess the role of academic identity status in psychological well-being. Method: This descriptive correlation study was conducted on medical sciences students admitted to Birjand University of Medical Sciences in 2017. The statistical population included 600 cases out of whom 240 subjects were selected via the simple random sampling method. Two questionnaires were employed for data collection: Isaacson's academic identity, and Ryff's scale of psychological well-being. The data were analyzed in SPSS (version 19) using descriptive statistics and stepwise regression. Results: The achieved identity was positively and significantly correlated with the variables of relationships with others, selfacceptance, and independence (P<0.05). The diffused identity had a significantly negative correlation with self-acceptance and positive relationship with others. Moratorium identity was significantly and negatively associated with self-acceptance. Furthermore, the correlation between foreclosed identity and selfacceptance was positive and significant. Conclusion: As evidenced by the results of the current study, successful identity contributes greatly to various dimensions of psychological well-being; therefore, family, school, and media perform a major educative role in the provision of appropriate training during growth and facilitation of search and discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of team-based learning (TBL) sessions as a learning tool and to assess the satisfaction level of medical students towards TBL in modular curriculum. Methods: Using the quasi-experimental study design, TBL sessions were conducted, involving students of 1st and 2nd year of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. The TBL infrastructure comprised of pre-class preparation, in-class individual readiness assurance pre-test and post-test, before and after group discussion, respectively. The responses of the students regarding TBL satisfaction were recorded through a structured questionnaire (5-point Likert-type scale) while Wilcoxon signed rank test was applied to measure the effectiveness of TBL sessions. Results: Out of 192 students, 85% agreed or strongly agreed that TBL helped them think critically, identify their knowledge gaps, boosted their confidence, and motivated them in group participation. Significantly better post-test scores were found in all modules where TBL was used as a teaching tool (Z range = -5.33 to -11.81, P < 0.00). Conclusion: TBL increases the post-test score in majority of the students, indicating improved learning process. It not only keeps students engaged throughout the learning process but incites critical thinking, problem solving skills, and confidence. Further studies are required to see long-term benefit of TBL in students’ learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine practices, attitudes, and factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination among students from different health science schools. Materials and Methods: This was an analytical, observational, and prospective study. This study evaluated students from different health science schools of the Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal, Lima, Peru, from March to July 2021. This was the period during which the national vaccination campaign began in Peru. Data collection was carried out using a validated, anonymous, and virtual questionnaire using Microsoft Forms. This measured the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine and consisted of 23 questions that addressed the dimensions of practices and attitudes toward vaccination. Finally, a logistic regression model was used to determine the factors associated with vaccination practices and attitudes, with a significance level of P<0.05. Results: Female subjects were more prevalent with 489 (75.5%) students, and the professional school of medicine had the most representatives, with 146 (22.5%) subjects. Most of the students belonged to cycle VIII, with 140 (21.6%). The statistical regression model showed that only sex was a factor associated with COVID-19 vaccination practices and attitudes, with odds ratio = 0.60; confidence interval = 0.42-0.93, and P =0.019. Conclusion: Undergraduate Peruvian students from all areas of health sciences showed significant practices and attitudes toward vaccination against COVID-19. However, of all the associated factors, sex was the only statistically significant factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the knowledge of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and its risk factors among medical science students. Study Design: Online cross-sectional survey. Place and Duration of Study: It was conducted in various medical colleges and allied health institutes of all provinces of Pakistan, from Mar to Aug 2021. Methodology: It was an online cross-sectional survey conducted in selected medical colleges and allied health institutes of all provinces of Pakistan through convenience sampling. Students of post-graduate, unwilling to participate, physically ill and non-cooperative were excluded from the study. Ethical approval was obtained from Institutional Ethical Review board AFIC/NIHD. Informed written consent was taken from all participants Data was collected through a NCDs risk factors knowledge E-questionnaire. Data collected includes socio-demographic characteristics age, gender, education, and knowledge of various NCDs risk factors. Results: A total of 641 respondents participated in the study; the mean age of study population was 23.01 ± 4.10 years. Out of 259 (40.4%) males and 382 (59.6%) females were participated. Majority of the participants were MBBS students 288 (45%), whereas other disciplines included in the survey were BDS 19 (2.5%), Pharm-D 13 (2%), Nursing 135 (21%) and Allied Health sciences 110 (17.2%). Out of 587 (91.6%) students knew that NCDs were not contagious. Majority 547 (85.3%) of the respondents were aware of different types of NCDs like cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases and cancers. Almost 616 (96%) of the participants knew about normal ranges for blood pressure. Majority of the students tried to impart health education regarding NCDs to the community 415 (64.7%). Conclusion: This study highlights a lack of awareness regarding NCDs risk factors among students of allied health sciences (17%) as compared to the MBBS, BDS, Nursing and Pharm-D students. The ministry of health (MONHRS) and education needs to re-organize teaching and training programs for various disciplines in medical education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Knowledge, once acquired, degrades over time. Exams that contain questions related to previously acquired knowledge ('retrieval practice questions') may promote retrieval practice and spaced learning, and subsequently prevent knowledge loss. To investigate this hypothesis, we compare the score of retrieval practice questions to regular questions in exams of a two-year (bio)medical study program. Methods: The two-year "Mechanisms of Health and Disease"-program for biomedical sciences and medical students in Nijmegen (the Netherlands) contains 14 spaced exams of 80 questions each. The percentages of correct-, false-, and non-answers were compared between regular questions and retrieval practice questions. Using Pearson correlations between question scores and exam scores (RiT-values), the impact of retrieval practice questions on the internal consistency of exams was determined. Mixed model analyses determined changes in outcomes across time. Results: Analysis of 2006 regular questions and 1728 retrieval practice questions revealed a significantly higher percentage of correct and false answers, and a significantly lower percentage of non-answers, in retrieval practice questions versus regular questions (all P < 0.05). Scores did not change across time. RiT-values were slightly lower in retrieval practice questions, with a small inverse trend across time. Conclusion: Our data indicate preservation of knowledge, possibly related to retrieval practice and/or spaced learning. Although the RiT-values of retrieval practice questions were slightly lower than those of regular questions, the discriminative capacity was well within acceptable range. These data highlight the potency of retrieval practice questions to prevent knowledge decrement, without altering exam quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic in 2020 caused many universities to rapidly transition into online learning and assessment. For many this created a marked shift in design of assessments in an attempt to counteract the lack of invigilation of examinations conducted online. While disruptive for both staff and students, this sudden change provided a much needed reconsideration of the purpose of assessment. This review considers the implications of transitioning to online assessment providing practical strategies for achieving authentic assessment of students online, while ensuring standards and accountability against professional accrediting body requirements. The case study presented demonstrates that an online multiple choice assessment provides similar rigor in assessment to invigilated examination of the same concepts in human physiology. Online assessment has the added benefit of enabling rapid and specific feedback to large cohorts of students on their personal performance, allowing students to target their weaker areas for remediation. This has implications for improving both pedagogy and efficiency in assessment of large cohorts where the default is often to assess basic recall knowledge in a multiple choice assessment. This review examines the key elements for implementation of online assessments including consideration of the role of assessment in teaching and learning, the rationale for online delivery, accessibility of the assessment from both a technical and equity perspective, academic integrity as well as the authenticity and structure of the assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The academic formation of health science professionals involves their harmonious and integral development as human beings, considering, among other elements, self-concept and lifestyles, in order to become a proactive agent of change in the place where they work. Generally, health science students at the university level in Peru start as adolescents and continue into their later teenage years, a time when self-concept and behavior are developing with a relation between the two. Additionally, university students often do not eat a balanced diet, sleep an adequate number of hours each night, or do enough exercise during the week. This problem is compounded when they have a heavy course load, as is often the case for students in the health sciences. With this in mind, the objective of this study was to identify the influence of self-concept on lifestyles in students of a private university in eastern Lima. The study has a non-experimental design and it is a quantitative study with an explanatory-causal and cross-sectional approach. The sampling method used was non-probabilistic, and 135 students participated in the study, meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Their ages ranged from 16 to 24 years old (M = 20) and the majority of the participants were female (87 %). The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the university. Two previously validated instruments were chosen to measure the primary variables of the study. The Lifestyle Questionnaire (PEPS-I), consisting of 48 questions with answers on a Likert scale, consists of six factors and was chosen since it has already been validated with adolescents in Peru. The AF-5 has 30 questions grouped into five factors, and it was chosen for the self-concept variable since it has already been validated in a sample of university students in Peru. Both instruments were administered with the support of the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the university where the study was carried out. Teachers of different courses granted around 20 minutes of their class time for the study team members to come in, present the study, ask for informed consent, and then apply the instruments with those who were willing to participate. In the descriptive analysis, the average of the lifestyle profile corresponds to the self-realization dimension (43.2), followed by the health responsibility dimension (26.1) and the lowest average belongs to the exercise dimension (12.4). In the analysis of the self-concept variable, the social self-concept obtained the highest average (43.2) and the physical self-concept presented the lowest average (28.2). A model was developed to explore the relationships between the two variables and within the factors of each variable. This model shows that self-concept significantly influences the lifestyle of these students (ß = .80; p < .05), that is, self-concept is able to explain 80 % of the lifestyle profile that the students currently hold. Within each variable, most of the factors for self-concept had values equal to or greater than .80, except for the family factor which had a value of .55 while the factors for lifestyles were all above .75 except for the exercise factor. Health science education at the university level should include integral formation not only about knowledge that can be used to treat future patients, but also about lifestyle changes that can help their own health. Self-concept and lifestyle are both in a process of formation during the university years, and they are related. Simply learning about the benefits of healthy lifestyles is not enough, as many health science students are taught these concepts but yet do not put them into practice. Social self-concept in particular, since it was the highest score among the related factors, could be a key way to encourage health science students to take what they learn and put it into practice in their own lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education of health and medical sciences in this era needs treatment because therapeutic education alone cannot have an effect on high health goals. The body of education should also be repaired. Therefore, the present study aims to analyze the strategy of medical science education with a therapeutic approach along the treatment of education. The present study is a review study by searching the databases of ISI Web of Knowledge, PubMed, Medline, Scopus and Google Scholar with the keywords of medical science education, therapist education, treatment, prevention, preventive education during the years 1995 until now. Based on the few studies that have been carried out in the field of education and treatment strategies or their interactions, and the targeted search and analysis of the results have shown that the goals of health and medical science education cannot be pushed to the training of successful therapists. Rather, it should be revised and rewritten in order for graduate therapists to modify the body of treatment with an educational approach and apply treatment with the aim of preventive education. Maybe this strategy is time-consuming and expensive, but in the long run, therapists will achieve prevention from the approach of treating patients. In addition, changing health behaviors in the short and long term is a major health investment and will greatly affect health policies. In the pandemic crisis of the world and during the emergence and reappearance of new diseases, it is important to review the community-oriented medical science education program, and this will be realized when the treatment is based on the basic principles of health and treatment and is on the right path to health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, innovation management in advancing organizational goals is an indisputable necessity in the health system. The survival of organizations, including universities, depends on innovation and a learning culture. Innovation management is significantly affected by the learning culture. Innovation management affects the inter- sectoral processes of important units of medical universities. Innovation management is the cornerstone of the knowledge-based economy in the higher education field. Therefore, the present study aimed at reviewing the innovation management with the mediating role of learning culture in medical sciences education. The present study was a systematic review in which the keywords were determined based on MESH and then searched in databases like SID, Iran Medex, Pubmed, Google scholar, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science Uptodate and Magiran. The search results led to the discovery of 98 articles that were studied by the authors through basic thematic analysis. At the end, 14 articles were obtained. Finally, 11 articles on thematic and content criteria with the aim of studying intercourse were included in the systematic review study. Various studies showed that the characteristics of innovation management with the mediating role of learning culture in the direction and future of higher health education system and factors such as education management style, human resources, organizational incentives, organizational culture, absorption capacity, structure Organization, teaching methods, resources and facilities can be identified as one of the most important aspects of innovation management. The results of the present study showed that innovation management criteria with the mediating role of learning culture in higher health education with emphasis on the country's priorities is an important principle that is effective in compiling a foresight document and roadmap for achieving authority in medical education. This could be a beacon for the National Center for Strategic Research in Medical Education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has been the new buzzword in Malaysia following governmental policies for integrating digital technologies into the administrative and socioeconomic aspects of life. With the enrolment of new generations of digitally endowed students, the waves of the digital revolution will soon hit the shore of medical education. This commentary proposes the concept of a medical education system that fully adopts the 4IR agenda in teaching and learning basic medical and clinical sciences. The deliberation in this article offers novel avenues for medical teachers to reflect on their roles and preparedness in steering Malaysian medical education towards the foreseeable digitalised future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Internet as a communication tool is an essential component of daily life. Nowadays, problematic Internet use (PIU) has led to various psychosocial problems that can indirectly lead to oral diseases due to neglect of healthy behaviors. Also, college students are a large proportion of Internet users. The present study aimed to determine the association between problematic Internet use and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among medical and dental students. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was conducted on medical and dental students in the first and second years of education (basic sciences courses) at the Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, between January and July 2020. The data collection process was carried out in the following sequence: questionnaire on demographic characteristics (age, gender, marital status, academic field, and year); Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ); and Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire. Results: Among 268 medical and dental students, 171 students (63.81%) [95% confidence interval: 58.02%- 69.60%] had problematic Internet use. The mean PIU score in the first-year was significantly higher than the second-year students. In addition, 65% of single students and 25% of married subjects were dealing with PIU. The statistical difference between mean OHIP scores among PIU students (12.5 ± 2.9), with average Internet usage (7.39 ± 6.6), was significant. The Spearman correlation coefficient between PIU and OHIP was 0.309 and significant (P-value < 0.000001). It indicates that students with higher PIU showed higher OHIP scores. Conclusion: The present study showed that problematic Internet use was significantly associated with oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among first and second-year medical and dental students. Thus, the students with problematic Internet use experienced a poorer oral health-related quality of life than average Internet users. Furthermore, appropriate preventive and interventional strategies need to be developed to encourage rational use of the Internet to protect the users' oral health, especially among medical and dental students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Hand hygiene is a significant strategy in preventing and controlling infections with a great impact on nosocomial infections and preventing microbial resistance. Objectives: The main goal of this study was to investigate the performance of medical interns in handwashing in the educational and medical centers of Guilan University of Medical Sciences. Patients and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, which was conducted in 2020 in Rasht city. The study population consisted of all medical interns. The handwashing was observed in medical interns after obtaining their permission and separately at a suitable time and place. They were given a grade based on a poster approved by the Ministry of Health of Iran. Results: A total number of 147 medical interns were enrolled in this study. We also found out that the mean score of study population in handwashing steps was 7.11± 1.97. The lowest rate of correct performance was for 5th (tying the fingertips and washing them) (32%), 8th (washing around the wrist) (49.7%) and 7th (washing the palm lines with the fingertips) (53.1%) steps. The performance score of female interns had a higher average than male interns (7.4 versus 6.8) (P = 0.028). Conclusion: Considering the importance of handwashing in preventing the transmission of diseases, especially in the COVID-19 pandemic and the repeated recommendations to wash hands properly as a simple and accessible way to prevent further transmission of the virus, the review of the awareness and practice of medical interns about the handwashing seems to be critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of keratoconus (KC) in the students and faculty members (aged >=18 and <=30 years) studying/working at the Medical and Health Sciences faculties of Eskisehir Osmangazi University. /p> Setting: Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Eskisehir, Turkey. Design: Prevalence study. Methods: Subjects were randomly selected to undergo KC screening using a proportional stratified sampling method. Of the 648 invited subjects, 585 (90.3%) responded to the invitation. The demographic data, medical/family history, and habits of the subjects were collected using a standardized questionnaire. Subjects were classified as KC, ectasia susceptibility, and normal based on the corneal tomography. The chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for the analysis of categorical variables and parametric values, respectively. Risk factors for KC were determined using logistic regression analysis. Results: Of the enrolled 585 subjects, the prevalence of KC was 2393/100 000 (2.4%, 95% CI: 1.3% to 4%), whereas that of ectasia susceptibility was 1538/100 000 (1.5%, 95% CI: 0.7% to 2.9%). Although the prevalence was much higher in males (4%, 95% CI: 1.7% to 7.7%) than in females (1.6%, 95% CI: 1.1% to 4.4%), the difference was not statistically significant (P =.09). Most (78.6%, n = 11) patients with KC were unaware of their disease. Eye rubbing (odds ratio [OR]: 3.53, P =.024) and consanguineous marriage (OR: 12.87, P =.032) were independent risk factors for KC. Conclusions: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first population-based KC prevalence study in a randomized sample conducted in Turkey. The prevalence of KC in Turkey was much higher than in European countries but similar to neighboring countries in the Middle East. Eye rubbing and history of consanguineous marriage were significant risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 pandemic obligated applying population-level behavioral modifications to effectively prevent the spread of the disease. This necessitated investigating those measures that determine population behavior. Herein we have studied risk perception and information exposure that are among those determinants in Iran. 402 cases from medical sciences students were enrolled during the last week of September 2020. Using an online questionnaire, risk perception and sources of information about COVID-19 were investigated. Although most students considered COVID-19 preventable, merely a few considered the disease curable. A higher risk was perceived concerning the families compared to themselves. Moreover, most of them believed the prognosis good even in high-risk patients. Social media was the most informative source used; however, health professionals were considered the most reliable. The risk perception was equal between those diagnosed with COVID-19 or had a family member diagnosed compared to those without such exposure in most questions. Also, no significant difference was observed in risk perception between those students with serious underlying medical conditions and those without one regarding most items. Lastly, major and grade were the most significant demographic contributors to the risk perception. Moderate risk was perceived overall among the cases in which major and grade were the only remarkable demographic contributors. Unexpectedly, underlying medical history was not significantly correlated with the perceived risk. Lastly, previous COVID-19 exposure merely altered the curability and preventability perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online learning has become the new normal in many medical and health science schools worldwide, courtesy of COVID-19. Satisfaction with online learning is a significant aspect of promoting successful educational processes. This study aimed to identify factors affecting student and faculty satisfaction with online learning during the new normal. Online questionnaires were emailed to students (n = 370) and faculty (n = 81) involved in online learning during the pandemic. The questionnaires included closed- and open-ended questions and were organised into two parts: socio-demographic information and satisfaction with online learning. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the responses to the satisfaction scales. Students' and faculty responses to the open-ended questions were analysed using the thematic analysis method. The response rate was 97.8% for students and 86.4% for faculty. Overall satisfaction among students was 41.3% compared to 74.3% for faculty. The highest areas of satisfaction for students were communication and flexibility, whereas 92.9% of faculty were satisfied with students' enthusiasm for online learning. Technical problems led to reduced student satisfaction, while faculty were hampered by the higher workload and the required time to prepare the teaching and assessment materials. Study-load and workload, enhancing engagement, and technical issues (SWEET) were the themes that emerged from the thematic analysis as affecting student and faculty satisfaction. Adopting a combination synchronous and asynchronous approach, incorporating different applications to engage students, and timely feedback are imperative to increasing student satisfaction, while institutional support and organisational policy could enhance faculty satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of recorded video in medical education is increasing. Video material may be assigned before scheduled sessions to create a flipped classroom. Here, the instructor may lead a session that is organized for discussion, interpretation, and reflection of the previewed content. We established conditions that lead to increased student participation and engagement with prerecorded content for a medical genetics section in a first-year medical school basic sciences integrated course. Preliminary analysis of an asynchronous video-based pre-professional program directed the design of video material to support a first semester medical genetics course. We compared student participation in, and opinion of, a flipped-classroom session based on written vs. video presentation of material. Student opinion was surveyed with audience response devices (clickers). Shorter videos that were created specifically for the course were preferred by students compared to recordings of previously delivered lectures. Students preferred videos to assigned reading material and consistent scheduling throughout the teaching semester increased student participation. Presentation of medical school content with previously recorded video material can be a useful teaching tool if properly implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaccine hesitancy has surfaced globally within the last few decades, and the fears and misconceptions of people about vaccine safety and effectiveness have been identified as key factors for their under-utilization. The familiarity, attitudes, and religious beliefs of the public and of future healthcare practitioners regarding vaccination are extensive areas needing exploration. The present exploratory cross-sectional study was designed, planned and carried out on students enrolled in health science and non-health science courses in one of the public universities of Malaysia. A research instrument that had been formulated, validated and subjected to reliability testing was used to collect the data, which were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A response rate of 80.8% (n = 202) was obtained: the majority were female (n = 161, 79.7%), and had been vaccinated before (n = 190, 97.5%), while a mere 2% did not support vaccination for reasons pertaining to safety issues. The vaccine familiarity score was 10.79 ± 1.4, which significantly differed among the study disciplines (p < 0.001). The mean of the total attitude score was 14.95 ± 1.5, with no significant difference among demographics being noted. The mean of the total religious beliefs score was 24.29 ± 2.8 and significantly differed based on gender (p = 0.040) and study disciplines (p < 0.001). The current findings showed that the participants were familiar with vaccines and had generally positive attitudes and positive religious beliefs toward vaccination; thus, one can expect that their inclusion in immunization campaigns will generate positive outcomes of the immunization program. Although the current research reported few knowledge gaps, these may be handled with the introduction of a specialized immunization course at an undergraduate level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]