ArticleAfrican journal of primary health care & family medicine2018
Exploring a communication curriculum through a focus on social accountability: A case study at a South African medical school.
Article in African journal of primary health care & family medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Decolonizing medical education: a systematic review of educational language barriers in countries using foreign languages for instruction.BMC medical education · 2025Pooled it
- Article
- Exploring strategies, programs, and influencing factors for integrating social accountability into undergraduate medical education: a scoping review.BMC medical education · 2024Article
- From understanding to action: a juncture-factor framework for advancing social responsiveness in health professions education.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- Promoting physician-patient language concordance in undergraduate medical education: a peer assisted learning approach.BMC medical education · 2023Article
- Communication experiences of healthcare students whilst managing adults with communication disorders.The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir Kommunikasieafwykings · 2022Article
- Teaching and assessing communication skills in the postgraduate medical setting: a systematic scoping review.BMC medical education · 2021Article
- The impact of the English medical curriculum on medical history taking from Arabic speaking patients by medical students.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2021Article
- Students' Perspectives of a Community-Based Medical Education Programme in a Rural District Hospital.Journal of medical education and curricular developmentArticle
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGood communication is integral to social accountability, and training is included in medical curricula internationally. In KwaZulu-Natal, training is conducted in English, in spite of most public sector patients being mother tongue isiZulu speakers. Communication challenges with patients are common, but good communication and African language teaching are not emphasised in teaching.
aimThis study explored communication training and how it related to social accountability at a single institution in KwaZulu-Natal.
settingThis exploratory, qualitative case study design at the medical school explored participants' perceptions about communication and social accountability and reviewed relevant educational documentation for evidence.
methodsPurposive sampling was used to select medical students, educators and stakeholders from the educational and service platforms. Focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were conducted. The data were thematically analysed with reference to Boelen's social obligation scale for medical schools.
resultsGood communication was valued, but often poorly role-modelled. Participants agreed that communication and isiZulu teaching were insufficiently supported to respond adequately to the needs of local communities. Social accountability was not well understood by students, while medical school educators and other stakeholders indicated that, despite aspirations, this goal had not yet been achieved.
conclusionsLearning isiZulu language and culture in an integrated manner in both preclinical and clinical phases would improve communication with patients, contribute to socially responsive health care, and better address health care needs. Incorporating a social accountability framework in curriculum review would highlight the importance of measuring health outcomes and community impacts, and so enhance the educational mission of the medical school.
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