Factors affecting social accountability of medical schools in the Korean context: exploratory factor and multiple regression analyses

Exploring strategies, programs, and influencing factors for integrating social accountability into undergraduate medical education: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Social accountability (SA) measures institutional responses to societal needs. For medical education to be socially accountable, institutions must be equitably accessible and commit to training physicians who can work with communities to address health disparities. This scoping review aimed to explore the integration of social accountability into undergraduate medical education and examine the various ways it is implemented.

METHODS

The authors searched PubMed, OVID Medline, CINAHL, ERIC and Scopus electronic databases for articles published between January 1995 and June 2023 to explore how SA is integrated into undergraduate medical education. The enhanced version of Arksey's and O'Malley's six-stage protocol was used. Analysis was done using the thematic analysis approach.

RESULTS

Eight hundred twenty-six articles were retrieved in the preliminary search. After the screening, 17 articles were included for final review. From the findings, three thematic areas were derived, which included strategies applied in incorporating SA into undergraduate medical education, factors influencing the adoption of SA into undergraduate medical education, and programmes used to translate SA into undergraduate medical education.

CONCLUSION

This scoping review provides a comprehensive overview of the strategies, programs, and influencing factors related to the integration of social accountability into undergraduate medical education. The implementation of SA in undergraduate medical education is still very slow across the globe, there is an urgent need for a continued push towards making medical schools socially accountable.

Perceptions and experiences of undergraduate medical students regarding social accountability: a cross-sectional study at a Subsaharan African medical school

BACKGROUND

Medical schools are called to be socially accountable by medical education and healthcare system stakeholders. Social accountability is a feature of excellent medical education. Medical students are essential to the development of socially accountable medical schools. Therefore, understanding the perceptions and experiences of medical students regarding social accountability is critical for efforts to improve social accountability practices and outcomes.

METHODS

This cross-sectional online questionnaire-based survey used Google Forms and involved medical students in their fourth and fifth years of study at the Makerere University School of Medicine. The survey was conducted between September 2022 and October 2023. We used a study questionnaire and a validated toolkit designed by students as part of The Training for Health Equity Collaborative to gauge a school's progress towards social accountability in medical schools to collect data on demographics, perceptions and experiences and evaluate social accountability.

RESULTS

Out of 555 eligible medical students, 426 responded to the online questionnaire. The response rate was 77%. The mean age of the students was 25.24 ± 4.4 years. Almost three fourths of the students were male (71.3%), and slightly less than two thirds were in their fourth year of study (65%). Almost half of the students (48.1%%) evaluated the school as doing well with regard to social accountability. The evaluation items referring to community-based research and positive impact on the community had the highest mean scores. Only 6 (3.6%) students who reported hearing of social accountability had a clear understanding of social accountability. Students receiving career guidance in secondary school was associated with evaluating social accountability in the medical school as strong (p-0.003).

CONCLUSIONS

Medical students evaluated the medical school favorably forsocial accountability despite lacking a clear understanding of social accountability. Receiving career guidance in secondary school was significantly associated with a positive evaluation of social accountability.

Perceptions and Experiences of Undergraduate Medical Students Regarding Social Accountability: a Cross-sectional Study at a Subsaharan African Medical School

Background

Medical schools are called to be socially accountable as a feature of excellent medical education. Medical students are essential to the development of socially accountable medical schools. Therefore, understanding the perceptions and experiences of medical students regarding social accountability is critical for efforts to improve social accountability practices and outcomes.

Methods

This cross-sectional online questionnaire-based survey used Google Forms and involved medical students in their fourth and fifth years of study at the Makerere University School of Medicine. The survey was conducted between September 2022 and October 2023. We used a study questionnaire and the Students' toolkit for social accountability in medical schools to collect data on demographics, perceptions and experiences and evaluate social accountability.

Results

A total of 426 medical students responded to the online questionnaire. The mean age of the students was 25.24 ± 4.4 years. Most of the students were male (71.3%), and most were in their fourth year of study (65%). Most of the students (43.66%) evaluated the school as having a good level of social accountability. The evaluation items referring to community-based research and positive impact on the community had the highest mean scores. Only 6 (3.64%) students provided an accurate definition of social accountability. Students receiving career guidance in secondary school was associated with evaluating social accountability in the medical school as strong (p-0.003).

Conclusions

Medical students evaluated the medical school favorably in terms of social accountability. Receiving career guidance in secondary school was significantly associated with a positive evaluation of social accountability.