Parents acceptance of medical students and factors affecting medical students’ involvement in their child’s health care at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Date
2024-02
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Background: Direct patient interaction is one of the most effective educational strategies for fostering
clinical reasoning, professional attitudes, decision-making, empathy, communication skills and patient
management. Although many medical schools have begun to incorporate simulations into their
curriculum, actual patients are frequently the sole option for students to get practical clinical
experience. However, the practice of patient-centered clinical activity relies heavily on the willingness
and comfort of the parents to actively involve medical students in their child’s health care.
Objective: This study aimed to assess parents acceptance of medical students’ and factors affecting
medical students’ involvement in their child’s health care from November 11, 2023 to January 9, 2024
at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Methods: Facility based cross-sectional study was done from November11, 2023 to January 9, 2024
at TASH, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health in pediatric emergency unit and pediatric wards.
A total of 422 patients were studied. The data was gathered through the utilization of a structured
questionnaire and analyzed employing the SPSS version 27. Categorical data were described using
frequency and percentage. Bivariable and Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to
assess the factors impacting the acceptance of medical students. This study used an adjusted odds ratio
(AOR) with 95% confidence interval to estimate the strength of the association at a statistical
significance level of 5%.
Result: A survey of 422 parents of pediatric patients found that 83.9% of the respondents showed
positive attitude towards medical students and 262 were aware of medical students practising at
TASH. However, 29.4% and 36% of respondents refused clinical examinations and procedures on
their child without presence of supervising physician. Meanwhile, 17.8% and 28.2% of respondents
refused clinical examinations and procedures on their child in the presence of a supervising physician.
The study found that the absence of a supervisor during a medical procedure and negative previous
interactions significantly impacted medical student acceptance, with (AOR = 0.24[0.082–0.73]; 95%
CI) with a P value of 0.01 and (AOR = 0.16 [0.05-0.48]; 95% CI) with a P value of 0.001,
respectively.
Conclusion: Nearly one-thirds of parents whose child was admitted to Tikur Anbessa Specialized
Hospital objected to clinical examinations and procedures on their children in the absence of
supervising physician. Therefore, medical students may find it difficult to develop clinical skills at
Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital.
Recommendation: To improve the low acceptance rate in clinical practice, TASH should raise the
awareness of parents about the importance and necessity of clinical practice, address their concerns,
and enhance the use of simulation-based practice.
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Keywords
Parents, acceptance, medical students, factors, Ethiopia