A nationwide survey of attitudes towards psychiatry among final-year medical students in Sri Lanka

Baminiwatta, Anuradha; Bandara, Wijendra; Athurugiriya, A.A.I.D.; Yangdon, Tshering; Cader, G.R.; Bokalamulla, L.A.B.; Bandara, W.R.R.D.; Bandara, W.M.K.M.; Chandradasa, K.A.S.I.P.; Athukorala, H.P.; Dias, Gssr

doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102101

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The impact of the length of clerkship exposure on the attitudes toward psychiatry is controversial. Some studies showed that “more than one month” of exposure to psychiatry showed a better attitude compared with the “one month or less” option 5 , whereas some revealed that no significant change in the Attitude to Psychiatry (ATP) total score was noted between before and after a short term (4 weeks or less) clerkship 6 . Dating back to 2003, a study conducted in southern Thailand showed that the average score implied a more favorable attitude (mean = 110, SD = 10.28).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medical students’ attitude towards psychiatry: a comparison of past and present

Wiriyacosol

Oon-arom

Suradom

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Attitude to psychiatry influences motivation for medical students to successfully achieve in studying psychiatry. With a new generation of students, it would be interesting to investigate how attitudes have changed. This study aimed to compare the attitude of fifth-year medical students toward psychiatry in recent and in the past 24 years. Two samples of fifth-year medical students at Chiang Mai University completed the 30-item attitude to psychiatry (ATP-30); 118 students completed it in 1996, whereas 242 medical students completed it in 2019. Rasch analysis was employed for examining the differences between the total score and individual item scores between the two groups. The total score of ATP in the 2019 group was significantly higher than that in the 1996 group. After misfitting individuals and biased items were removed, only 15 items were valid and useful for a comparison. Of 15 items, 11 were found highly significantly different between two groups (p < 0.001). Negatively worded items, e.g., no strong evidence indicating effectiveness, became easier to score items (increased positive attitude) whereas some positively worded items, e.g., I would like to be a psychiatrist. Nine items, became more difficult (less positive attitude) comparing between 1996 and 2019. In a comparison between the two methods using the traditional t-test and Rasch analysis, only 5 of 30 items (16.7%) agreed with each other. The overall attitude to psychiatry was significantly higher at the present compared with that in the past. Most items did not differ between the two times. Further studies regarding improving the attitude scale using item response theory such as Rasch should be encouraged.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medical students’ attitude towards psychiatry: a comparison of past and present

Wiriyacosol

Oon-arom

Suradom

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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“…All the medical schools in Sri Lanka offer psychiatry as one of the five major components in the final examination, on par with medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and gynecology/obstetrics. [ 25 ] Minor differences are seen in the duration and layout of the psychiatry teaching program in different medical faculties. In general, the teaching program involves a total of 8–12 weeks of clinical training and 40–75 h of lectures, along with subsidiary teaching methods, such as tutorials and seminars.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several of the targets proposed by Trivedi and Dhyani[ 6 ] have been achieved by now. Possibly reflecting the impact of these curricular changes, in a recent island-wide survey of the attitudes of final-year medical students toward psychiatry in Sri Lanka,[ 25 ] a strikingly positive attitude was observed. Whether these positive observations will be reflected in the future recruitment of trainees into psychiatry needs to be explored.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparative analysis of psychiatry curriculum at undergraduate level of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka

Arafat¹,

Kar

Sharma

et al. 2021

Indian Journal of Psychiatry

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“…Numerous methods have been proposed to address these concerns and achieve desired learning outcomes in psychiatry during the pandemic [ 5 – 7 ]. Since clinical clerkships are known to improve medical students’ attitudes towards psychiatry, efforts should be made to ensure proper delivery of undergraduate psychiatric training, especially in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) such as Sri Lanka, where recruitment into psychiatry has been a major challenge [ 8 , 9 ].…”

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confidence: 99%

Perceived Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Psychiatric Training Among Final-Year Medical Undergraduates in Sri Lanka: an Online Survey of Students from Eight Universities

et al. 2022

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Objective This study aimed to assess the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on undergraduate psychiatry training in Sri Lanka and to explore several potentially associated factors. Methods An online survey was distributed among students from eight medical schools who recently faced their final exam. Their perceptions on the impact of the pandemic on the psychiatry training and exam performance were rated on a 10-point scale. Resilience was assessed using a two-item scale. Results A total of 644 students responded (69.5% female, mean age=27.5 years). Among them, 164 (25.5%) reported being quarantined; 25 (4%) reported becoming infected with COVID-19; and 170 (28.6%) reported ward closure for over a week during the clerkship. Greater impact was reported for patient availability (mean=7.08), mental status assessments (mean=6.3), developing rapport (mean=6.2), and diagnostic skills (mean=5.9), whereas the impact on peer-learning (mean=5.5) and self-study (mean=3.6) was relatively lower. Impact on clinical components of the final exam (mean=6) was rated higher than on theory components (mean=4.5). The majority (70.3%) reported that COVID-19-related stress affected their exam preparations. Higher resilience predicted lower perceived impact on all aspects of training/exam performance. Female gender and ward closure predicted greater impact on diagnostic skills, overall training, and clinical exam performance, whereas being quarantined predicted greater impact on peer-learning and self-study. Conclusion The pandemic has significantly affected the undergraduate psychiatry training in Sri Lanka, particularly its clinical components. Increasing clinical exposure to patients, managing students’ stress, and building their resilience should be key concerns for medical educators during the pandemic.

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A nationwide survey of attitudes towards psychiatry among final-year medical students in Sri Lanka

Cited by 7 publications

References 35 publications

Medical students’ attitude towards psychiatry: a comparison of past and present

Medical students’ attitude towards psychiatry: a comparison of past and present

A comparative analysis of psychiatry curriculum at undergraduate level of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka

Perceived Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Psychiatric Training Among Final-Year Medical Undergraduates in Sri Lanka: an Online Survey of Students from Eight Universities

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