Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33489247›Full record

ArticleGlobal mental health (Cambridge, England)2020

Factors influencing medical students and psychiatry residents in Ghana to consider psychiatry as a career option - a qualitative study.

Vincent I O Agyapong, Amanda Ritchie, Kacy Doucet, Gerald Agyapong-Opoku, Reham Shalaby, Marianne Hrabok, Thaddeus Ulzen, Akwasi Osei

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Global mental health (Cambridge, England), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Vincent I O AgyapongDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2743-0372
Amanda RitchieSt James School of Medicine, Anguilla, Anguilla.
Kacy DoucetAlberta Health Services, Edmonton, Canada.
Gerald Agyapong-OpokuTempo School, Edmonton, Canada.
Reham ShalabyDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Marianne HrabokDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
Thaddeus UlzenDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Alabama, Alabama, USA.
Akwasi OseiGhana Mental Health Authority, Accra, Ghana.
Alberta Health Services · CAUniversity of Alberta · CAGhana Health Service · GHUniversity of Alabama · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCurrently, Ghana has 14 actively practicing psychiatrists and about 26 psychiatric residents for a population of over 28 million people. Previous research suggests a lack of interest by Ghanaian medical students and medical graduates in considering psychiatry as a career option.

objectivesTo examine the perception of medical students and psychiatry residents in Ghana about the barriers which hinder Ghanaian medical graduates from choosing careers in psychiatry and how these barriers could be overcome.

methodsThis was a cross-sectional qualitative study with data gathered using focus group discussion. Twenty clinical year medical students were selected through block randomization from the four public medical schools in Ghana and invited to participate in one of two focus group discussions. Also, four psychiatric residents were invited to participate in the focus group discussions.

resultsThe main barriers identified by participants could be grouped under four main themes, namely: (a) myths and stigma surrounding mental health and patients, (b) negative perceptions of psychiatrists, (c) infrastructure and funding issues, (d) lack of exposure and education. To address the barriers presented, participants discussed potential solutions that could be categorized into five main themes, namely: (a) stigma reduction, (b) educating professionals, (c) addressing deficient infrastructure, (d) risk management, and (e) incentivizing the pursuit of psychiatry among students.

conclusionHealth policy planners and medical training institutions could consider implementing proposed solutions to identify barriers as part of efforts to improve the psychiatrist to patient ratio in Ghana.

Indexed as

Careersincentivesmedical studentspsychiatryriskstigma

Identifiers

PMID33489247
PMCPMC7786269
OpenAlexW3097299203

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.