BackgroundIn Finland, public health care is the responsibility of primary health care centres, which render a wide range of community level preventive, curative and rehabilitative medical care. Since 1990's, medical studies have involved early familiarization of medical students with general practice from the beginning of the studies, as this pre-clinical familiarisation helps medical students understand patients as human beings, recognise the importance of the doctor-patient relationship and identify practicing general practitioners (GPs) as role models for their professional development. Focused on doctor-patient relationship, we analysed the reports of 2002 first year medical students in the University of Kuopio. The students observed GPs' work during their 2-day visit to primary health care centres.MethodsWe analysed systematically the texts of 127 written reports of 2002, which represents 95.5% of the 133 first year pre-clinical medical students reports. The reports of 2003 (N = 118) and 2004 (N = 130) were used as reference material.ResultsMajority of the students reported GPs as positive role models. Some students reported GPs' poor attitudes, which they, however, regarded as a learning opportunity. Students generally observed a great variety of responsibilities in general practice, and expressed admiration for the skills and abilities required. They appreciated the GPs' interest in patients concerns. GPs' communication styles were found to vary considerably. Students reported some factors disturbing the consultation session, such as the GP staring at the computer screen and other team members entering the room. Working with marginalized groups, the chronically and terminally ill, and dying patients was seen as an area for development in the busy Finnish primary health care centres.ConclusionDuring the analysis, we discovered that medical students' perceptions in this study are in line with the previous findings about the importance of role model (good or bad) in making good doctors. Therefore, medical students' pre-clinical primary health care centre visits may influence their attitudes towards primary health care work and the doctor-patient relationship. We welcome more European studies on the role of early pre-clinical general practice exposure on medical students' primary care specialty choice.

The objective of this study was to explore religious beliefs of Somali men residing in Finland that may influence their use of condoms and their perceptions of contraceptive use by women of their community. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to study 98 refugee Somali married men aged 30-65 years. Participants filled in self-administered questionnaires (in English or in Somali) but were also interviewed. The interviews were semi-structured, featuring thematically clustered open-ended questions; they were conducted in Somali or in English. Participants had arrived in Finland between 1990-1998. They had from 2-12 children. For religious reasons, 63% of the men avoided using condoms and were opposed to women's contraceptive use. The remaining 37% were not deterred by religious beliefs from using condoms and from approving women's contraceptive practices. In conclusion, for religious reasons, most Somali men assessed avoided using condoms and disapproved of the use of contraception by women.

The objective of this study was to explore whether the time at which sex education was provided had any impact on reported cases of unintended pregnancies. A cross-sectional survey of secondary school students and their teachers was conducted using self-administered questionnaires. The participants were 1,234 students aged 14-17 years and 46 teachers in 5 secondary schools in South Eastern Nigeria. The outcome measures were reported pregnancies within the last 3 years by type of school and class level; class level at the time of receiving sex education at school; and age at the time of receiving sex education at home. In all schools, sex education was provided at all the junior and senior secondary school levels (JSS and SSS, respectively). Overall, reported cases of unintended pregnancies were highest among the junior students. In the private schools, four in ten teachers reported pregnancies among JSS 3 students. Almost four in ten teachers in public schools reported pregnancies among JSS 2 students. Of all the students, about three in ten reported pregnancies among JSS 2 and 3 students respectively. At home, sex education was provided at the mean age of 16 years (SD ± 2.2). All participants cited financial need and marital promise as major predisposing factors. About four in ten students did not use contraceptives during their first sexual experience. This study highlights the need to introduce sex education much earlier, possibly before the JSS levels. At home, sex education may have greater impact if provided before the age of 14 years. Efforts should be made to address the factors predisposing to teenage pregnancy.

Survey -This method was tested with four groups of subjects (n=8, n=47, n=104 and n=36). Results -Children and patients with a severe disease were prioritised in all groups. The aged, patients with a mild disease and patients with a self-acquired disease were negatively prioritised in all groups. Poor or rich patients were prioritised in some groups but negatively prioritised in others. Conclusions -The validity and reliability of this method are good and it is suitable for investigating attitudes towards medical prioritisation.

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