Does a comprehensive service user-led education programme effect more positive attitudes towards recovery and less stigmatising attitudes towards people with lived experience of mental distress in medical students? A comparative cohort study

2021 ◽  
pp. 000486742098788
Author(s):  
Giles Newton-Howes ◽  
Jessica Senior ◽  
Ben Beaglehole ◽  
Gordon L Purdie ◽  
Sarah E Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Service User ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Comprehensive Service ◽  
The Impact

Objective: This study sought to investigate the impact of a service user-led anti-stigma and discrimination education programme, encompassing numerous interventions focused on facilitating multiple forms of social contact, the promotion of recovery, and respect for human rights, on medical student attitudes. Method: A comparison cohort study was used to compare the attitudes of two cohorts of medical students who received this programme as part of their fifth (the fifth-year cohort) or sixth (the sixth-year cohort) year psychological medical education attachment (programme cohorts) with two cohorts of equivalent students who received a standard psychological medical attachment (control cohorts). Attitudes to recovery (using the Recovery Attitudes Questionnaire) and stigma (using the Opening Minds Scale for Healthcare Providers) were measured at the beginning and end of the attachments for each year and compared both within and between the cohorts using Wilcoxon signed-rank or Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Results: With sample sizes ranging from 46 to 70 across all cohorts, after their psychological medicine attachment both the programme and control cohorts showed more positive attitudes towards recovery and less stigmatising attitudes towards people with lived experience of mental distress. Significant differences between the programme cohorts and the control cohorts were found for recovery attitudes (median difference of 2, p < 0.05 in both fifth and sixth year), with particularly large differences being found for the ‘recovery is possible and needs faith’ subdomain of the Recovery Attitudes Questionnaire. There were no significant between cohort differences in terms of stigmatising attitudes as measured by the Opening Minds Scale for Healthcare Providers. Conclusion: The introduction of a comprehensive service user-led anti-stigma and education programme resulted in significant improvements in recovery attitudes compared to a control cohort. However, it was not found to be similarly superior in facilitating less stigmatising attitudes. Various possible reasons for this are discussed.

A comparative analysis of two alternative programmes to counter stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness delivered to medical students

2020 ◽  
pp. 103985622097193
Author(s):  
Sarah E Gordon ◽  
Leah A Kininmonth ◽  
Giles Newton-Howes ◽  
Gordon L Purdie ◽  
Tracey Gardiner
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Stigma And Discrimination ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Effective Contact ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Over Time

Objective: To assess and compare attitudes of medical students in response to two service-user-led anti-stigma and discrimination education programmes. Method: Two programmes, consistent with the key elements of effective contact-based anti-stigma and discrimination education programmes for healthcare providers, were delivered to medical students in their penultimate and final year: a more intensive version of the programme in 2015/2016 and a briefer programme in 2016/2017. Attitudes were assessed using the Recovery Attitudes Questionnaire (RAQ) and the Opening Minds Stigma Scale for Health Care Providers (OMS-HC-20) at the beginning and end of their final year. Results: There were no significant differences between the years in initial scores on either scale. Both cohorts showed statistically significant reductions in scores on both scales after completion of the programme, indicating overall improvements in students’ attitudes with reductions in stigma, and more positive attitudes towards recovery of those in mental distress. The more intensive programme led to significantly greater improvement in reductions in stigma than the less intensive programme. Conclusion: Findings support the need for contact-based anti-stigma and discrimination education programmes for medical students that are both intensive and repeated over time.

scholarly journals COVID-19 KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICES BETWEEN PAKISTANI MEDICAL AND NON-MEDICAL STUDENTS

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-176
Author(s):  
Bushra Suhail ◽  
Ayesha Masood ◽  
Javaria Baig ◽  
Sara Mukhtar ◽  
Sarah Aftab ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Conceptual Knowledge ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Contagious Nature ◽  
Positive Attitudes

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: This study investigated medical and non-medical students’ knowledge, attitude, and preparedness regarding COVID-19 pandemic, to groom volunteers and future healthcare providers in a better way. METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study was completed from April to May 2020 during the first wave of COVID-19. An online questionnaire was distributed using internet and social media (SM). The questionnaire was composed of several parts concerning to demographic data, knowledge, attitude, and practices. RESULTS: This study included 1851 students [1041(56.54% medical, 810(43.46%) non-medical students)]. Medical students had significantly better knowledge about the contagious nature, spread and treatment of coronavirus. Non-medical students showed more risky behavior compared to medical students (p = 0.005). The use of masks and the frequency of handwashing was better among medical students as compared to non-medical students (p< 0.001; p< 0.014, respectively). The odds ratio indicates that students of the age group 21-25 years (45%) and medical students (75%) were more likely to have a positive attitude. CONCLUSION: This study revealed good knowledge, positive attitudes, and good practices towards COVID-19 among medical students. Still, a minority of participants from both groups revealed misconceptions and relatively poor conceptual knowledge regarding the disease.

scholarly journals “Thank You for Giving Me a Voice!” A Longitudinal Evaluation of Patients’ Experience of Partnering With Students in an Australian Medical School

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 238212051769277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberley Dale Ivory ◽  
Georgina Luscombe ◽  
Linda Ann Klein ◽  
Alexandra Barratt
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Baseline Survey ◽  
Illness Experiences ◽  
Patients Experience

Background: We evaluated the patient-partner experience in a longitudinal program called Integrated Population Medicine in the Sydney Medical School to assess its acceptability. The program exposed senior medical students to the lived experience of chronic disease. Methods: We surveyed 267 people with chronic conditions recruited as patient-partners by the 2012 student cohort in a mixed-methods longitudinal cohort study. Surveys were administered ‘over’ 18 months: before, during, and after the program. Results: A total of 155 (58%) patient-partners completed the baseline survey; 52 patients returned all 3 surveys. Patient-partners remained very positive about the program across all surveys. More than 95% of respondents enjoyed interacting with the student, and most were very positive about their role in teaching the student. Three major themes emerged: willingness to help, a sense of gratitude and enjoyment, and a chance to teach and learn. Participants were willing to discuss their illness experiences and were keen to spend more time with students. Conclusions: Patients are willing participants in longitudinal patient-partner programs. They perceive benefits for themselves and others, for the health system, and for students and would like to become more actively involved in medical education.

scholarly journals Tracking Stress, Mental Health, and Resilience Factors in Medical Students Before, During, and After a Stress-Inducing Exam Period: Protocol and Proof-of-Principle Analyses for the RESIST Cohort Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Fritz ◽  
Jan Stochl ◽  
Rogier A Kievit ◽  
Anne-Laura van Harmelen ◽  
Paul O Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Growth Models ◽  
Temporary Increase ◽  
Exam Stress ◽  
Resilience Factors

BACKGROUND Knowledge of mental distress and resilience factors over the time span from before to after a stressor is important to be able to leverage the most promising resilience factors and promote mental health at the right time. To shed light on this topic, we designed the RESIST (Resilience Study) study, in which we assessed medical students before, during, and after their yearly exam period. Exam time is generally a period of notable stress among medical students, and it has been suggested that exam time triggers mental distress. OBJECTIVE In this paper, we aim to describe the study protocol and to examine whether the exam period indeed induces higher perceived stress and mental distress. We also aim to explore whether perceived stress and mental distress coevolve in response to exams. METHODS RESIST is a cohort study in which exam stress functions as a within-subject natural stress manipulation. In this paper, we outline the sample (N=451), procedure, assessed measures (including demographics, perceived stress, mental distress, 13 resilience factors, and adversity), and ethical considerations. Moreover, we conducted a series of latent growth models and bivariate latent change score models to analyze perceived stress and mental distress changes over the 3 time points. RESULTS We found that perceived stress and mental distress increased from the time before the exams to the exam period and decreased after the exams to a lower level than before the exams. Our findings further suggest that higher mental distress before exams increased the risk of developing more perceived stress during exams. Higher perceived stress during exams, in turn, increased the risk of experiencing a less successful (or quick) recovery of mental distress after exams. CONCLUSIONS As expected, the exam period caused a temporary increase in perceived stress and mental distress. Therefore, the RESIST study lends itself well to exploring resilience factors in response to naturally occurring exam stress. Such knowledge will eventually help researchers to find out which resilience factors lend themselves best as prevention targets and which lend themselves best as treatment targets for the mitigation of mental health problems that are triggered or accelerated by natural exam stress. The findings from the RESIST study may therefore inform student support services, mental health services, and resilience theory.

scholarly journals Tracking Stress, Mental Health and Resilience Factors in Medical Students, Before, During and After a Stress-Inducing Exam Period: Protocol and Proof of Principle Analyses for the RESIST Cohort-Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Fritz ◽  
Jan Stochl ◽  
Rogier Kievit ◽  
Anne-Laura Van Harmelen ◽  
Paul Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Change Score ◽  
Temporary Increase ◽  
Stress Exposure ◽  
Resilience Factors

Background: Resilience factors, such as self-esteem or social support, are known to reduce mental distress in the face of stress or adversity exposure. So far, knowledge on the promotive value of resilience factors over the time span from before to during and after the stress or adversity exposure is concerningly scarce. Such knowledge seems however important to eventually be able to leverage the most promising resilience factors at the right time. To shed light on this topic we designed the RESIST study, in which we assessed medical students (N=457) before, during and after their yearly exam period. Exam time is a period of notable stress in medical students and has been suggested to trigger mental health problems.Objectives: Here we describe the study protocol and examine whether the exam period did indeed induced higher (di)stress.Methods: RESIST is a cohort-study in which exam stress functions as within-subject natural stress manipulation. In this manuscript we outline the sample, procedure, assessed measures (including demographics, perceived stress, mental distress, 13 resilience factors and adversity) and ethical considerations. Moreover, we conducted a series of latent growth and bivariate latent change score models to analyse perceived stress and mental distress changes over the three time points.Results: We found that perceived stress and mental distress increased during exams compared to before exams, but decreased below pre-exam levels afterwards. Our findings further suggest that higher perceived stress before the exams may result in less recovery in mental distress after exams. Moreover, higher mental distress before the exams increased the chance of higher perceived stress during exams, which in turn increased the risk for a less successful (or quick) recovery of mental distress after exams.Conclusion: As expected, the exam period caused a temporary increase in (di)stress. Therefore, the RESIST study lends itself well to explore whether the promotive value of resilience factors changes from before to during and/or after stress exposure. Such knowledge will eventually help to find out which resilience factors lend themselves best as prevention and which as intervention targets for the mitigation of mental health problems that are triggered or accelerated by the stress exposure. Findings from the RESIST study may therefore inform student support services, mental health services and resilience theory.

scholarly journals Tracking Stress, Mental Health, and Resilience Factors in Medical Students Before, During, and After a Stress-Inducing Exam Period: Protocol and Proof-of-Principle Analyses for the RESIST Cohort Study

10.2196/20128 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. e20128
Author(s):  
Jessica Fritz ◽  
Jan Stochl ◽  
Rogier A Kievit ◽  
Anne-Laura van Harmelen ◽  
Paul O Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Growth Models ◽  
Temporary Increase ◽  
Exam Stress ◽  
Resilience Factors

Background Knowledge of mental distress and resilience factors over the time span from before to after a stressor is important to be able to leverage the most promising resilience factors and promote mental health at the right time. To shed light on this topic, we designed the RESIST (Resilience Study) study, in which we assessed medical students before, during, and after their yearly exam period. Exam time is generally a period of notable stress among medical students, and it has been suggested that exam time triggers mental distress. Objective In this paper, we aim to describe the study protocol and to examine whether the exam period indeed induces higher perceived stress and mental distress. We also aim to explore whether perceived stress and mental distress coevolve in response to exams. Methods RESIST is a cohort study in which exam stress functions as a within-subject natural stress manipulation. In this paper, we outline the sample (N=451), procedure, assessed measures (including demographics, perceived stress, mental distress, 13 resilience factors, and adversity), and ethical considerations. Moreover, we conducted a series of latent growth models and bivariate latent change score models to analyze perceived stress and mental distress changes over the 3 time points. Results We found that perceived stress and mental distress increased from the time before the exams to the exam period and decreased after the exams to a lower level than before the exams. Our findings further suggest that higher mental distress before exams increased the risk of developing more perceived stress during exams. Higher perceived stress during exams, in turn, increased the risk of experiencing a less successful (or quick) recovery of mental distress after exams. Conclusions As expected, the exam period caused a temporary increase in perceived stress and mental distress. Therefore, the RESIST study lends itself well to exploring resilience factors in response to naturally occurring exam stress. Such knowledge will eventually help researchers to find out which resilience factors lend themselves best as prevention targets and which lend themselves best as treatment targets for the mitigation of mental health problems that are triggered or accelerated by natural exam stress. The findings from the RESIST study may therefore inform student support services, mental health services, and resilience theory.

scholarly journals The Impact of Pediatric Palliative Care Education on Medical Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Korzeniewska-Eksterowicz ◽  
Łukasz Przysło ◽  
Bogna Kędzierska ◽  
Małgorzata Stolarska ◽  
Wojciech Młynarski
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Pediatric Palliative Care ◽  
Life Issues ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
End Of Life Issues ◽  
Knowledge And Attitude ◽  
The Impact

Purpose. Most undergraduate palliative care curricula omit pediatric palliative care (PPC) issues. Aim of the study was to evaluate the pilot education programme.Methods. All 391 students of Faculty of Medicine (FM) and 59 students of Division of Nursing (DN) were included in anonymous questionnaire study. Respondents were tested on their knowledge and attitude towards PPC issues before and at the end of the programme and were expected to evaluate the programme at the end.Results. For final analysis, authors qualified 375 double forms filled in correctly (320 FM and 55 DN). Before the programme, students’ knowledge assessed on 0–100-point scale was low (FM: median: 43.35 points; 25%–75%: (40p–53.3p); DN: 26.7p; 13.3p–46.7p), and, in addition, there were differences (P<0.001) between both faculties. Upon completion of the programme, significant increase of the level of knowledge in both faculties was noted (FM: 80p; 73.3–100; DN: 80p; 66.7p–80p). Participation in the programme changed declared attitudes towards some aspects of withholding of special procedures, euthanasia, and abortion. Both groups of students positively evaluated the programme.Conclusions. This study identifies medical students' limited knowledge of PPC. Educational intervention changes students' attitudes to the specific end-of-life issues. There is a need for palliative care curricula evaluation.

scholarly journals COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among medical students

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria C Lucia ◽  
Arati Kelekar ◽  
Nelia M Afonso
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Vaccine Trial ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Fda Approval ◽  
Vaccine Recommendations ◽  
Coverage Rates

ABSTRACT Background Medical students are among the group of frontline healthcare providers likely to be exposed to COVID-19 patients. It is important to achieve high COVID-19 vaccination coverage rates in this group as soon as a vaccine is available. As future healthcare providers, they will be entrusted with providing vaccine recommendations and counseling vaccine-hesitant patients. Methods This project used self-report to assess vaccine hesitancy and acceptance among medical students towards the novel COVID-19 vaccine. Results Nearly all participants had positive attitudes towards vaccines and agreed they would likely be exposed to COVID-19; however, only 53% indicated they would participate in a COVID-19 vaccine trial and 23% were unwilling to take a COVID-19 vaccine immediately upon FDA approval. Students willing to immediately take the vaccine were more likely to trust public health experts, have fewer concerns about side effects and agree with vaccine mandates (P &lt; 0.05). Concern for serious side effects was independently predictive of lower odds of intent to participate in a COVID-19 vaccine trial (AOR = 0.41, P = 0.01). Conclusion This is the first study to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among US medical students and highlights the need for an educational curriculum about the safety and effectiveness to promote uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine.

scholarly journals Evaluation of an international medical E-learning course with natural language processing and machine learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aditya Borakati
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Natural Language Processing ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Text Mining ◽  
Natural Language ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
E Learning ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background In the context of the ongoing pandemic, e-learning has become essential to maintain existing medical educational programmes. Evaluation of such courses has thus far been on a small scale at single institutions. Further, systematic appraisal of the large volume of qualitative feedback generated by massive online e-learning courses manually is time consuming. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an e-learning course targeting medical students collaborating in an international cohort study, with semi-automated analysis of feedback using text mining and machine learning methods. Method This study was based on a multi-centre cohort study exploring gastrointestinal recovery following elective colorectal surgery. Collaborators were invited to complete a series of e-learning modules on key aspects of the study and complete a feedback questionnaire on the modules. Quantitative data were analysed using simple descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analysed using text mining with most frequent words, sentiment analysis with the AFINN-111 and syuzhet lexicons and topic modelling using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). Results One thousand six hundred and eleventh collaborators from 24 countries completed the e-learning course; 1396 (86.7%) were medical students; 1067 (66.2%) entered feedback. 1031 (96.6%) rated the quality of the course a 4/5 or higher (mean 4.56; SD 0.58). The mean sentiment score using the AFINN was + 1.54/5 (5: most positive; SD 1.19) and + 0.287/1 (1: most positive; SD 0.390) using syuzhet. LDA generated topics consolidated into the themes: (1) ease of use, (2) conciseness and (3) interactivity. Conclusions E-learning can have high user satisfaction for training investigators of clinical studies and medical students. Natural language processing may be beneficial in analysis of large scale educational courses.

scholarly journals Impact of Resident-Led Small-Group Learning Sessions on Preclinical Students' Perceptions of Ophthalmology

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (01) ◽  
pp. e78-e81
Author(s):  
Priya Sorab ◽  
Andrew R. Benza ◽  
Ian T. Patterson ◽  
Lisa D. Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Small Group ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Clinical Skills ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Residents As Teachers

Abstract Introduction Resident physicians have a significant role in the education of medical students, and limited research has demonstrated that positive interactions with residents are linked with enhanced students’ perceptions of a specialty. Minimal research on residents as teachers has been done in ophthalmology, and no research has examined the impact of residents as teachers on the perceptions of preclinical students. This is an important area of interest because ophthalmology conducts an early match. The competitiveness of the field increases the importance of early involvement in research and clinical activities. This study aimed to assess the role of a resident-led workshops as a vehicle for exposing preclinical students to ophthalmology. Methods A 2-hour workshop on the Ophthalmology Clinical Skills was held at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in November 2018. The workshop was conducted by seven ophthalmology residents, and the learners were 15 first-year and 11 second-year medical students. The workshop format consisted of a 30-minute introductory lecture on the field of ophthalmology, followed by a 60-minute small-group clinical skills’ session focusing on direct ophthalmoscopy and slit lamp examination. Preworkshop and postworkshop surveys were administered to the medical students, and Student’s paired sample t-test was used to assess the differences in responses before and after the workshop. Results Students’ average interest in ophthalmology rose (p = 0.049) as did their likeliness to approach a resident for career advice (p = 4.65 × 10−6) and their likeliness to attend the Secrets of the Match Lunch talk, a yearly talk held by a student matched into ophthalmology (p = 0.002). Conclusion These results suggest that resident intervention can have a positive impact on preclinical students’ perceptions of ophthalmology and may be a good educational strategy to foster their positive attitudes toward the field.

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