METHODS: A total of 135 students from three undergraduate year levels of the MBBS degree at UAMC, Dhaka, Bangladesh, undertook study tours (community-based teaching, CBT) as a part of a community medicine course and visited a medical college, two rural health centres and a meteorology centre in the Cox's Bazar district, 400 km from Dhaka city. A questionnaire was used to assess the perceptions of students regarding the administration, organisation and learning experiences of the study tours. Students were required to write reports, present their findings and answer questions in their examinations related to the study tours and CBT.
RESULTS: The majority of the students agreed or strongly agreed that the tour was a worthwhile (93%) and enjoyable (95%) learning experience that helped them to understand rural health issues (91%). More than half of the students reported that the study tours increased their awareness about common rural health problems (54%) and provided a wider exposure to medicine (61%). Only 41% of students reported that the study tour increased their interest in undertake training in a rural area. A substantial number of students also expressed their concerns about the planning, length, resources, finance and organisation of the study tours.
CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the study tours had a positive effect, enhancing students' awareness and understanding of common rural health problems. As study tours failed to increase the motivation of the students (approximately 60%) to work in rural areas, CBT in the medical curriculum should be reviewed and implemented using effective and evidence-based models to promote interest among medical students to work in rural and underserved or unserved areas.
AREAS COVERED: Antimicrobial stewardship programs improve rational antibiotic use, reduce antimicrobial resistance, decrease complications of antibiotic use, and improve patient outcomes. Though health professional students recognize the importance and impact of antibiotic prescribing knowledge, many studies have consistently demonstrated low levels of confidence and competencies amongst students, highlighting that health professional schools failed to prepare them to prescribe antibiotics accurately.
EXPERT OPINION: There is an urgent call for the integration of antimicrobial stewardship teaching at the undergraduate level of medical education to train future prescribers on this critical aspect of public health. Proper undergraduate education on rational antibiotics use would enable health professional graduates to enter clinical practice with adequate competencies to become rational prescribers.
OBJECTIVE: Explore the relationship between domestic violence on the decision-making power of married women in Myanmar.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional.
SETTING: National, both urban and rural areas of Myanmar.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data from the Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey 2015-16 were used in this analysis. In that survey, married women aged between 15 to 49 years were selected for interview using a multistage cluster sampling technique. The dependent variables were domestic violence and the decision-making power of women. Independent variables were age of the respondents, educational level, place of residence, employment status, number of children younger than 5 years of age and wealth index.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Domestic violence and decision-making power of women.
SAMPLE SIZE: 7870 currently married women.
RESULTS: About 50% respondents were 35 to 49 years of age and the mean (SD) age was 35 (8.4) years. Women's place of residence and employment status had a significant impact on decision-making power whereas age group and decision-making power of women had a relationship with domestic violence.
CONCLUSION: Giving women decision making power will be indispensable for the achievement of sustainable development goals. Government and other stakeholders should emphasize this to eliminate violence against women.
LIMITATIONS: Use of secondary data analysis of cross-sectional study design and cross-sectional studies are not suitable design to assess this causality. Secondly the self-reported data on violence may be subject to recall bias.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in 2017 which recruited medical students of UPNM. The Empathy Quotient, a self-reported questionnaire, was utilized for data collection. The total empathy score of the questionnaire is 80.
RESULTS: Majority of the respondents were male (60.9%), year-V students (26.6%), Malay (70.5%), and cadet officer (69.6%). The overall mean score achieved by the respondents was 36.76 ± 9.18, and 74.4% of the respondents scored more than 30. The empathy scores of the students were significantly affected by the gender (t = 2.371; df = 205; P < 0.05), year of study (F = 2.553; df = 4/202; P < 0.05), and examination grades (F = 3.488; df = 2/204; P < 0.05). The findings showed that female students are more empathetic than their male counterparts. Further, the post hoc Tukey test analysis revealed that Year-V students are more empathetic than their junior counterparts and students who got highest grade are more empathetic.
CONCLUSIONS: To improve the empathy level of the UPNM medical students, appropriate educational strategies and interventions should be designed and implemented in the curriculum to inculcate, maintain, and enhance empathy.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey collected self-report data from April to June 2021 on side effects following the first dose of the vaccine. An online validated questionnaire using the Google Docs® platform was circulated via email and social media platforms.
RESULTS: More than 40% of participants experienced at least one side effect after the first dose of vaccination; the most common were mild and resolved within three days after vaccination. More than 91% of respondents received the Covishield (AstraZeneca) vaccine; the most prevalent adverse effects were soreness of the injected arm (78.9%), tiredness (71.1%), and fever (54.9%). Logistic regression showed that women were almost 60% less likely to report side effects.
CONCLUSION: Findings supported the safety of the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine based on relatively few self-limiting side effects, mainly soreness of the injected arm and tiredness. Further research is needed to determine the long-term safety of COVID-19 vaccines, especially after booster doses.