Perception of Health Care Undergraduates Towards Public Health Course Within Health College’s Curriculum –An Observational Study From Saudi University, in Riyadh Region, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Public Health (PH) competencies are an increasingly important part of healthcare training; however, there is currently no integrated formal public health curriculum in the Saudi Arabian (SA) educational system, and perceptions of pharmacy and nursing students towards public health have not been reported. The purpose of this study was to analyse healthcare students' perceptions and awareness of the Public Health course within the Health College's curriculum at King Saud University (KSU) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional observational study was carried out between January and March 2023 at KSU in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, among undergraduate students of pharmacy and nursing. All responses were anonymized and selfreported. A total of 161 students participated in the survey. Among those 39.1% were female students, 36.9% of them were aged between 18 -20 years old (n = 59) and 35.6% of them were (n = 57) between 21 and 22 years old. Considering the course of study, approximately 65% (n = 104) of the students belonged to the pharmacy. The majority of the students 142 (88.2%) heard about the term "public health", while 83.2% (n = 134) of the students received a course that discussed or was similar to public health. About 90.1% of them (n = 146) agreed that public health courses should be included in all health colleges and the same proportion of students believed that these courses are important for health college students before graduation. A significant association was found between courses of study of health care students and interested in learning more about public health (p = 0.011). Undergraduate pharmacy and nursing students are interested in public health careers but lack formalized public health education during their course studies, needed to support and encourage integrating public health into their future careers. RezumatCompetențele în domeniul sănătății publice (PH) reprezintă o parte din ce în ce mai importantă a formării în domeniul sănătății; cu toate acestea, în prezent nu există un curriculum formal de sănătate publică în sistemul educațional din Arabia Saudită (SA), iar percepțiile studenților de farmacie și asistență medicală față de sănătatea publică nu au fost raportate. Scopul acestui studiu a fost de a analiza percepțiile și gradul de conștientizare al studenților din domeniul sănătății cu privire la cursul de sănătate publică în cadrul curriculumului Colegiului de Sănătate de la Universitatea King Saud (KSU) din Riad, Arabia Saudită. Un studiu observațional transversal a fost realizat între ianuarie și martie 2023 la KSU din Riad, Arabia Saudită, în rândul studenților de la specializările de farmacie și asistență medicală. Toate răspunsurile au fost anonimizate și auto-raportate. Un total de 161 de studenți au participat la sondaj. Dintre aceștia, 39,1% erau studente, 36,9% dintre ele aveau vârste cuprinse între 18 -20 de ani (n = 59) și 35,6% (n = 57) dintre ele aveau între 21 și 22 de ani. Având în vedere aria curriculară, aproximativ 65% (n = 104) dintre studenți erau viitori farmaciști....

In response to the Saudi healthcare reform: a cross-sectional study of awareness of and attitudes toward the public health model among health students

“…A recent Saudi study demonstrated a strong correlation between a student’s major and their interest in public health. However, even those interested in public health lacked sufficient formal education and training ( 53 ). Furthermore, the education and training of nursing students in Addayer focus primarily on rural communities and public health, which perhaps makes them impressed by the role of large hospitals in providing advanced clinical services.…”

“…The study major was significantly associated with interest in public health ( p = 0.011). Although undergraduate pharmacy and nursing students were interested in pursuing public health careers, they did not receive adequate formal education in public health ( 53 ). These studies targeted pharmacy and nursing students in the central region of Riyadh and Qassim Further research is needed on students studying various areas of health and medicine in different Saudi regions.…”