[Correlation between Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE) and knowledge examination scores and analysis of factors associated with better OSCE success in fourth and fifth year medicine students at Dijon university hospital]

RATIONALE

Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) were introduced to evaluate students not only on their knowledge, but also on their clinical skills and attitudes. The objectives were to study the correlation between OSCE scores and scores obtained to traditional knowledge examinations and to analyse factors associated with better OSCE performance in DFASM1 and 2 students at Dijon university hospital.

METHODS

This was a prospective observational study conducted among all fourth and fifth year medical students in Dijon. The scores on the OSCE elective tests (2022) and the average score on the knowledge tests (2021-2022) were collected and their correlation measured. A questionnaire asked students about their demographic characteristics, their investment in formative and practicum OSCEs, their level of empathy (Jefferson questionnaire) and their personality traits (NEO-Pi-R).

RESULTS

Of 549 students, 513 completed all tests. Scores on OSCE and faculty knowledge tests were correlated (r=0.39, P<0.001). Of these, 111 (20%) students responded to the questionnaire, and 97 were analized. We did not observe any significant difference between students who performed better on OSCEs than on knowledge tests and those who did not, regarding their age, their investment in formative tests, their personality traits or their level of empathy.

CONCLUSION

Our results underline the need to optimize the evaluation of empathy and clinical skills in OSCE tests, using new tools, in order to better discriminate between students on these skills.

Impact of a training intervention on knowledge and practices of health-care workers about reprocessing reusable medical devices in a South-Tunisian University Hospital

INTRODUCTION

Reprocessing of reusable medical devices (RMD) play an important role in the prevention of health-care associated infections. In this perspective, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of a training program intervention on health-care workers' (HCWs) knowledge and hospital practices about the reprocessing of RMD as a main strategic axis of infection control.

METHOD

We led a pre-post quasi-experimental study to evaluate knowledge of HCWs and to assess hospital practices in reprocessing RMD before and after a training intervention from May to November 2020 in Hedi Chaker University Hospital. A self-administrated questionnaire was distributed for each participant to assess knowledge. To evaluate practical skills, an audit grid was used.

RESULTS

Overall, 30 participants were included. All HCWs had a fair level of knowledge before training. The knowledge score(KS) has significantly risen from pre to post-training (64/100 vs 80/100; p<0.001). When stratified by RMD type, a significant increase was noted on post intervention in KS about thermo-sensitive RMD reprocessing(p=0.044) and sterilization of thermo-resistant RMD (p=0.004). As for practice assessment, 5(62.5%) departments had a fair level of practice. The conformity score(CS) did not significantly change from baseline to post-follow-up(53.5 vs 56.2; p=0.06). According to the audit sections, we did not find a significant change in the pre- and post-intervention CS in sterilization process(70 vs 80; p=0.06) and in the cleaning and decontamination steps(66.7 vs 67 ; p=0.18).

CONCLUSION

As opposed to practical skills, positive impact of the training intervention on HCWs knowledge was noted, which underlined the gap between theory and practice.

[Benefits of group pelvic floor education sessions: satisfaction and improvement of women's knowledge]

INTRODUCTION

Pelvic floor dysfunctions are an important health-care issue however there are no primary prevention programs for perineal health. This study aims to evaluate the impact of perineal education group sessions on women's urinary and digestive behaviors and their satisfaction with these sessions.

MATERIAL

Perineal education sessions were proposed to women working in a gynecology department. Each session covered perineal physiology and anatomy, urinary and digestive physiology as well as risk situations for the pelvic floor. At the beginning and end of the sessions, participants completed a questionnaire on their knowledge about the pelvic floor and questions concerning their satisfaction were asked at the end of the session. A 2-month questionnaire assessed changes in urinary and digestive habits as well as the dissemination of information.

RESULTS

One hundred and sixty-three women, average age 38, participated in these sessions; 107 responded at 2 months. The education sessions significantly improved pelvic floor fonctions knowledge. After the sessions, 81.3% of women reported changing their urinary habits and 60.7% their defecatory habits. Participants found the sessions very useful (rating 9.7/10), all participants recommended these sessions to a friend and the dissemination of the information was important.

CONCLUSION

Perineal education sessions improve women's knowledge and limit risky behaviors for the pelvic floor. The satisfaction of women who received information is important and the dissemination of information strong.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

4.

[Moroccan pharmacy students' knowledge and perceptions about pharmacovigilance]

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of an educational work groups on the knowledge and perception of 2nd year pharmacist students towards pharmacovigilance in a moroccan faculty of medicine and pharmacy.

METHOD

A descriptive study conducted in pharmacology laboratory of the faculty of medicine and pharmacy of Rabat on 2nd year pharmacist students, to assess their knowledge and perception towards PV via questionnaire before and after an educational work groups.

RESULTS

Among the 122 invited students, 108 responded to the questionnaire distributed before working group with a participation rate of 88,5 %. This rate increased to 95,9 % (n=117) after work groups sessions. Pre-work groups, students showed an overall low knowledge, where only 27.7 % knew the ADRs reporting sheet. In addition, most students were not well prepared to report ADR in their future practice (n=82, 75.92 %). Work groups partially offsetting this deficit, and helped to better explain to the students the reporting system. Resulting in only 28 participants maintained their declaration of inability to report ADR in their future practice (25.92 %). On the other hand, students showed a favorable perception.

CONCLUSION

In this study, students expressed the desire to learn more about PV during their university education. This result led to the introduction of a system of PV working groups for 3rd and 4th year pharmacy students for the 2018-2019 academic year.

Hepatitis B knowledge, attitudes and practices among Moroccan college students

BACKGROUND

Viral Hepatitis B (HBV) prevalence in Morocco is estimated at 1.81%. University students are an exposed population due to their risky behaviors. Their knowledge about HBV is still unknown. The aim of our study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of college students in Casablanca about HBV.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was carried out in January 2015 among the students of the eight schools of Hassan II University in Casablanca using a self-administered questionnaire. A knowledge score was calculated to compare the groups with sufficient and insufficient knowledge. A logistic regression adjusted on gender was performed to explore the factors associated with a sufficient knowledge about HBV (P<0.05).

RESULTS

The response rate was 90.2% (n=652). The median age was 21 years old. From our sample, 97.5% knew the existence of "hepatitis". The main means of information were media and relatives. The most known way of infection was blood transmission (50.3%) while 11.5% believed in the effectiveness of the traditional methods of treatment. Eating with an HBV infected person was thought to be a risky behavior for 38% of the students. A knowledge level that was deemed to be sufficient was scored by 31.1% of the students. The sufficient knowledge was correlated to being a health care student, being vaccinated and being married.

CONCLUSION

Casablanca's student knowledge about HBV remains limited. We believe that improvements in awareness and access to immunization are needed. These measures would likely help decreasing HBV incidence in students and ensure a better social integration of patients.

Knowledge and attitudes about cervical cancer and its prevention among female secondary school students in Nigeria

OBJECTIVE

To ascertain the level of awareness and attitudes towards cervical cancer among secondary school students in Nigeria.

METHOD

Cross-sectional survey of 432 female senior secondary school students in south-eastern Nigeria.

RESULTS

A total of 321 (74.3%) responses were valid; 42.7% had heard of cervical cancer, 32.8% of screening, 23.2% of Pap smears and 22.0% of HPV/HPV vaccinations. No widely available reliable source of information exists. General knowledge about Pap smears (41.8%) and HPV (43.1%) was poor, as was specific knowledge about their benefits, timing and frequency, and about HPV vaccinations, but associated attitudes were moderately positive at 60.2% and 65.1%, respectively. Awareness of cervical cancers increases knowledge about when to start screening (OR = 2.30; P = 0.02) and about early symptoms of cervical cancer (OR = 2.56; P = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Overall knowledge of cervical cancer is poor, but attitudes are positive. Awareness campaigns are therefore necessary, and are expected to be effective. Campaigns should target teenage females, and commencing teaching in high schools of developing countries, through materials included in their academic curricula, is recommended.

[Overview of the knowledge and attitudes of physicians in Brazzaville on obstructive sleep apnea syndrome]

INTRODUCTION

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is the leading sleep-related breathing disorder. Its complications and its repercussions on the quality of life of patients make the OSAS a real public health problem. The objective of this study is to both asses physicians knowledge of OSAS and describe their attitudes towards suspect subjects in Brazzaville.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

This was a cross-sectional study of 230 doctors practicing in various hospitals in the city of Brazzaville. The data collection was done by a self-questionnaire developed after a bibliographic analysis on the OSAS. The questionnaire was completed without recourse to a source of information.

RESULTS

Our sample consisted of 141 (70.50%) general practitioners and 59 (29.50%) specialist physicians. The average of the knowledge score was 9.34 points±3.03 points. The general level of physician knowledge about SAS was good in 2% of cases, average in 44% of cases and low in 54% of cases. The level of knowledge was related to the number of times the OSAS diagnosis was mentioned by the physician in his practice (P<0.001), to the doctor's grade (P=0.003); to his university of origin and to the quantity of sources of information. When faced with suspects OSAS subjects, the doctor, the doctor directed the patient in 62% of the cases in ENT and in 49% in the pulmonology.

CONCLUSION

The knowledge of the doctors on the OSAS are weak; this results in poor management of this pathology in the Congo.

[Assessment of physicians' and nurses' knowledge and practices of aerosol therapy]

INTRODUCTION

Aerosol therapy is an efficient, but complex procedure. National and international practice guidelines are regularly updated. However, only a few studies have assessed the application of guidelines by users. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge and practices of physicians and nurses regarding these guidelines.

METHODS

Two self-administered questionnaires were designed by a working team and presented to physicians and nurses of four university hospitals in Paris. A pharmacy resident collected and analyzed the data with the aid of an online survey website.

RESULTS

A total of 481 physicians and nurses completed the questionnaires (33 % of physicians and 67 % of nurses). Only 241/480 physicians and nurses (50 %) knew that several intravenous drugs cannot be nebulized. Ninety-four of 422 (22 %) of them always choose oxygen as the driving gas and 239/311 nurses (77 %) think that single use nebulizers can be re-used for the same patient.

CONCLUSIONS

This survey shows that many physicians and nurses lack knowledge and use inappropriate practices. Based on these results, a booklet has been designed by the working team. This booklet should help health professionals to harmonize practices across hospitals and to follow the guidelines correctly.

[Is there a need for a therapeutic education with patients suffering with open-angle glaucoma? Preliminary inquiry regarding knowledge and patient adherence]

PURPOSE

To evaluate the knowledge and compliance of patients with open-angle glaucoma in order to propose an approach by therapeutic education, validated for other chronic pathologies.

METHODS

A questionnaire-based interview of all patients in the waiting room of the glaucoma center is performed by the same health care professional.

RESULTS

Out of 200 patients, 73% know they will need to be treated throughout their lives and 95% are aware of the risk of blindness in the absence of appropriate treatment. However, 16% respond that they can be cured, and 54% believe that treatment can save their eyesight. Knowledge increases with the length of follow-up of patients at the glaucoma center beyond one year, but the progress is still insufficient in their confidence that treatment can save their eyesight (36% to 57%), and in the decrease in the number of patients who forget their treatment (56% to 30%).

CONCLUSION

Cognitive knowledge is insufficient to encourage the patient to comply with treatment. It is necessary to consider therapeutic patient education (TPE) techniques, such as described by WHO, in group and/or individual sessions, aimed at building the patient's confidence that treatment can delay the progression of the disease and blindness, strengthening his/her capacity to properly administer the eye drops, managing his/her treatment and coping with frequent side effects. Within this framework, our knowledge of the patients' representations of their glaucoma and its treatment must improve.

[Smoking behavior, knowledge, and attitudes towards anti-smoking regulations of nursing students in Sousse, Tunisia]

BACKGROUND

Smoking prevalence has reached high rates among health professionals. Our study aimed to assess smoking behavior, knowledge and attitudes towards anti-smoking regulations of nursing students.

METHODS

In 2013, we conducted a cross-sectional study among nursing students enrolled in private and state nursing institutions of Sousse (Tunisia).

RESULTS

In our study, 440 students were selected. The mean age was 22 ± 2 years. The sex ratio was 0.65. The prevalence of smoking was 20.6%. It was significantly higher in men than women (50% vs 4.5%, P < 10(-3)). Strong dependency was noted in 9%. One-third of smokers stated they wanted to quit smoking. Prohibiting the sale of cigarettes to minors and smoking in enclosed public places were the two most mentioned anti-smoking regulations.

CONCLUSION

Our rate was lower than those reported in the literature. This result should encourage policymakers to continue actions and ensure sustainability.

[High blood pressure and obesity: disparities among four French overseas territories]

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The epidemiological characteristics of hypertension and obesity in French overseas territories (FOTs) have never been compared.

METHODS

This cross-sectional survey included representative population-based samples of 602, 601, 620 and 605 men and women aged more than 15 years, respectively, from four FOTs of Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, and French Polynesia. Hypertension was defined as blood pressure (BP) at least 140/90mmHg or the current use of antihypertensive treatment.

RESULTS

The prevalence of hypertension was 29.2% in Guadeloupe, 17.9% in French Guiana, 27.6% in Martinique and 24.5% in French Polynesia. Considering the Guadeloupe population as the reference group, prevalence of hypertension was significantly lower in French Guiana (P<0.001), even after controlling for age and sex (PU0.006). Awareness and treatment of hypertension were similar in French Guiana, Martinique and Guadeloupe (68.8-75.1% and 69.0-73.4%, respectively). Awareness was lower in French Polynesia (50.0%, adjusted P value U0.04), as was treatment of hypertension (32.4%, adjusted P value U0.001). Control of hypertension was also lower in French Polynesia (8.8%, adjusted P value U0.001) compared with the other territories (29.7-31.8%). French Polynesia had the highest prevalence of obesity (33.1%, adjusted P value<0.001) as compared with the other territories (17.9-22.8%). It had also the largest population attributable fraction of hypertension due to obesity (35.5%) compared with Guadeloupe (13.3%), Martinique (12.3%) and French Guiana (23.6%).

CONCLUSION

Wide variations were observed in the prevalence and the management of hypertension between these FOTs, and an especially challenging low control of hypertension was found in French Polynesia. Obesity appears a key target to prevent hypertension, particularly in French Polynesia.

[Knowledge and practices of traditionnal birth attendant on birth asphyxia in Kolokani (Mali)]

INTRODUCTION

In Mali, according to the DHS IV in 2006, the neonatal mortality rate is 46 per thousand live births and is higher in rural areas (61‰) than in urban areas (45‰). The proportion of home births is 54%.

The aim of our study was to assess the knowledge and practices of traditional birth attendants (TBAs) on pregnancy and newborn asphyxia in the health district of Kolokani.

METHODOLOGY

It was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the health district Kolokani 1^st September to 04 October 2004. The study population consisted of traditional birth attendants TBAs. Our study covered 10% of the villages is Kolokani 28 villages randomly selected in 22 health areas. A total of 43 TBAs were interviewed. Data were entered with software EPI-Info version 6 and analyzed on SPSS11.

RESULTS

TBAs have said that the main pathologies compromising reproductive health were toxoplasmosis (79%), pelvic pain (74.4%), malaria (46.5%). The main diseases were heralds of a difficult delivery were toxoplasmosis (16.2%), pelvic pain (16.2%), polyhydramnios (11.6%), but 67.4% of TBAs unaware of these pathologies.

The main actions carried out before and during childbirth were displays of loin cloth (48.8%), floor sweeping (34.8%), display of drawsheet (30.2%), incantations (27.9%), the knotted strings "tafo" (32.5%). Deliveries conducted by TBAs have been estimated at 52% for all areas.

CONCLUSION

At the end of our study we recommend TBA training to reduce the risks associated with home births.

[Hepatitis B: cross-sectional study of knowledge and immunization among students at University of Cocody, Ivory Coast]

BACKGROUND

To evaluate knowledge about hepatitis B and vaccination coverage among students at Cocody's University, Ivory Coast.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted during the academic year 2005-2006 (2557 students). Parameters were collected by interview using a survey chart. Factors influencing knowledge and vaccination against hepatitis B were analyzed by logistic regression.

RESULTS

The majority of students (n=1174, 69.4% [95% CI 68-71]) knew about hepatitis B. Only 17.5% and 26.1% of students respectively were aware of sexual and blood transmission. None of the students were aware of maternal-fetal transmission. Factors associated with knowledge of hepatitis B were enrollment in health sciences (Odds Ratio=24.19 [95% CI 8.65-76.63]) and having a scholarship (Odds Ratio=2.34 [95% CI 1.54-3.56]). Vaccination coverage against hepatitis B was low (Odds Ratio=3.7% [95% CI 3-4]). Factors associated with vaccination were: knowledge of hepatitis B (Odds Ratio=6.83 [95% CI 4.57-10.27]), enrollment in health sciences (Odds Ratio=3.59 [95% CI 2.60-4.96]), marriage (Odds Ratio=2.04 [95% CI 1.13-3.64]) and having a scholarship (Odds Ratio=1.60 [95% CI 1.09-2.35]).

CONCLUSION

Knowledge and vaccination coverage against hepatitis B among students at Cocody's University is low. Students should be given information about hepatitis B and access to free vaccination. Students enrolled in health sciences should be vaccinated before admission because of specific risks of contamination, for themselves and for their patients.