Open AccessAre the final-year medical students competent enough to tackle the immunization challenges in their practice?
Author(s) -
Aleksa Jovanović,
Jovana Maricic,
Gorica Marić,
Tatjana Pekmezović
Publication year - 2023
Publication title -
vojnosanitetski pregled
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.123
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 2406-0720
pISSN - 0042-8450
DOI - 10.2298/vsp220209038j
Subject(s) - immunization , medicine , family medicine , vaccination , multilevel model , health care , competence (human resources) , interquartile range , curriculum , knowledge level , medical education , psychology , immunology , statistics , mathematics education , social psychology , pedagogy , mathematics , antigen , economics , economic growth
Background / Aim. The aim of this study was to evaluate the final-year medical students` competencies related to immunization challenges in their practice using the knowledge, attitudes, and practices study. Methods. The cross-sectional study was conducted among 442 final-year students of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade. The instrument used for data collection was an anonymous questionnaire consisting of 38 questions. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify the predictive value of different factors in immunization knowledge among medical students. Results. The median total knowledge score with the interquartile range was 7 ? 3.00 out of the 13. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between the knowledge score and the grade point average (GPA) (?=0.207, p<0.001). Thirty-five percent of students feel moderately capable of conducting work regarding vaccination without supervision. Also, 92.1% of students consider that additional training and information channels about immunization need to be implemented in curricula for HCWs. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis showed that gender, age, GPA, study duration, self-confidence regarding immunization knowledge, flu and hepatitis B vaccination status explained a total of 36% of the variance in the immunization knowledge score. Conclusion. The results of our study showed an average level of knowledge about immunization among final-year medical students. However, less than two-thirds of students believe that they have enough knowledge to reassure a person who is hesitant about immunization. This underlines a need for a better understanding and improving the parts of the curricula of medical faculties regarding immunization.