Workplace violence toward resident doctors in public hospitals of Syria: prevalence, psychological impact, and prevention strategies: a cross-sectional study

Kassem

et al. 2021

Preprint

Introduction:The huge workload on doctors especially residents, who are the main healthcare providers in public hospitals, in addition to the vanishing incomes and lack of personal safety during the decade-long Syrian crisis, led to further hurdles for the focus on research. Postgraduate students in the medical and paramedical fields must conduct original research projects as part of their graduation requirements. However, that does not reflect on the research publications coming from Syria.Methods:A nation-wide cross-sectional study targeting medical, dental, and pharmacy postgraduate students who are at the phase of planning for their required projects. The questionnaire aimed to capture their attitudes towards research, perceived barriers, and previous research experiences.Results:The sample consisted of 429 residents representing about 22% of the target population. Nearly all the participants had positive opinion towards the important role of medical research and the significance of their participation. Agreement was also clear regarding perceived barriers including the lack of adequate training, and research facility. Seventy-one percent of the participants were not involved in any research before the time of their master theses, less than 13% of them had submitted an article for publication, and less than 5% had submitted more than one paper. Poor internet connectivity and poor reading and writing English skills were decisive negative factors in previous research experiences. Mentors’ support and self-paced learning of research skills had a significant positive impact on students’ research contributions with odds ratios of 2.04 [1.02-4.06] (P<0.001) and 2.68 [1.48-4.84] (P<0.001) respectively.Conclusion:The attitudes of postgraduate students towards research were quite positive but hindered by several obstacles. Further integration of research practical training in the curricula, allowing long-distance mentoring, enhancing collaboration between peers, as well as narrowing the distance between students and mentors may significantly boost research productivity in Syria despite the conflicts.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medical research conduct and publication during higher education in Syria: attitudes, barriers, practices, and possible solutions

Kassem

et al. 2021

Preprint

“…It is noteworthy that WPV against medical residents is underreported [15]. Several studies showed that WPV against medical residents had been reported in the United States [16,17], Canada [18], China [19], India [20], Syria [21], Turkey [22], Romania [23], Peru [11], and Uganda [24]. Many studies highlighted the need for methods to ensure the safety of healthcare workers and proposed interventions to address the problem [25,26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Combined Behavioural Economics- and Simulation-based Medical Education to Promote Effectiveness among Medical Residents in Coping with Workplace Violence in Northern China: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Liu¹,

Liu²,

Jiao³

et al. 2021

Preprint

Background: Workplace violence is internationally recognized as a major concern for the workforce, which entails serious consequences, and research shows that medical residents are more likely than other doctors to experience violence in the workplace. This study examines the effectiveness of simulation-based medical education on the one hand, and simulation-based medical education combined with behavioural economics on the other as interventions in medical residents' perception of, attitude toward, and self-efficacy in coping with violence in the workplace. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used, 190 participants having been randomised into three study groups to respectively test the effect of simulation-based medical education only and simulation-based medical education plus with behavioural economics interventions, compared with a control group. Data were obtained from structured questionnaires, including (1) a perception of aggression scale, a management of aggression and violence attitude scale, a general self-efficacy scale, and (2) sociodemographic characteristics. Results: The results show that the scores attained by simulation-based medical education (SBME) and simulation-based medical education combined with behavioural economics (SBME+BE) interventions for perception, attitude, and self-efficacy were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < .01). The SBME+BE group recorded a higher improvement in perception, which could be ascribed to the behavioural economics effect. In addition, the higher perception of workplace violence is correlated with single residents and those with more work experience, prior experiences of violence in the workplace, and training related to workplace violence. A higher positive correlation of workplace violence was recorded by female and widowed residents; and a higher level of self-efficacy related to violence in the workplace correlated with male, widowed and senior (third-year) residents. Conclusions: This study contributes important evidence regarding changes in the perception, attitude, and self-efficacy of subjects following both the SBME+BE and SBME interventions among medical residents in coping with workplace violence, the highest perception change having been recorded after the SBME+BE intervention, which can be explained by the inclusion of behavioural economics.

“…To cover article-processing charges (APCs), authors tend to make use of funding that grants from governmental and educational institutes.Otherwise, researchers from Syria barely have any support and they have to conduct their research with limited funding and poor infrastructure [ 3 ]. Moreover, a salary of 73,000 Syrian pounds (SYP) per month equivalent to less than 30 USD, might be the only income for doctors throughout their residency years [ 4 ], thus it may take years to bear the costs of publishing a single scientific paper.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of article processing charge waiver on conducting research in low-income countries

Abdul-Baki¹,

Hussein²

2021

Confl Health

Health sciences research is a major tool in exchanging publications and knowledge between the various countries of the world. Researchers in developing countries barely have any financial funding from governmental or educational institutes to support their research. In low-income countries such as Syria, With less than 30$ per month and almost no financial support, Syrian residency doctors are fighting to push the scientific research reality of this ongoing crisis country forward and without a doubt, APC waiver plays a crucial role in this continuing mission.