Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38485474›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2024

UK medical students' self-reported knowledge and harm assessment of psychedelics and their application in clinical research: a cross-sectional study.

Charlie Song-Smith, Edward Jacobs, James Rucker, Matthew Saint, James Cooke, Marco Schlosser

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
4.5field-weighted citation impact, top 6% 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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Charlie Song-SmithUCL Medical School, University College London, London, UK.
Edward JacobsDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
James RuckerThe Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-4647-8088
Matthew SaintUniversity of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, UK.
James CookeInnerspace Institute, Alentejo, Portugal.
Marco SchlosserDivision of Psychiatry, UCL, London, UK marco.schlosser@ucl.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0002-0634-0749
University College London · GBKing's College London · GBUniversity of Exeter · GBUniversity of Oxford · GB

Funding

Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo capture UK medical students' self-reported knowledge and harm assessment of psychedelics and to explore the factors associated with support for changing the legal status of psychedelics to facilitate further clinical research.

designCross-sectional, anonymous online survey of UK medical students using a non-random sampling method.

settingUK medical schools recognised by the General Medical Council.

participants132 medical students who had spent an average of 3.8 years (SD=1.4; range: 1-6) in medical school.

resultsMost students (83%) reported that they were aware of psychedelic research and only four participants (3%) said that they were not interested in learning more about this type of research. Although medical students' harm assessment of psychedelics closely aligned with that of experts, only 17% of students felt well-educated on psychedelic research. Teachings on psychedelics were only rarely encountered in their curriculum (psilocybin: 14.1 (SD=19.9), scale: 0 (never) to 100 (very often)). Time spent at medical schools was not associated with more knowledge about psychedelics (r=0.12, p=0.129). On average, this sample of medical students showed strong support for changing the legal status of psychedelics to facilitate further research into their potential clinical applications (psilocybin: 80.2 (SD=24.8), scale: 0 (strongly oppose) to 100 (strongly support)). Regression modelling indicated that greater knowledge of psychedelics (p<0.001), lower estimated harm scores (p<0.001), more time spent in medical school (p=0.024) and lower perceived effectiveness of non-pharmacological mental health treatments (p=0.044) were associated with greater support for legal status change.

conclusionsOur findings reveal a significant interest among UK medical students to learn more about psychedelic research and a strong support for further psychedelic research. Future studies are needed to examine how medical education could be refined to adequately prepare medical students for a changing healthcare landscape in which psychedelic-assisted therapy could soon be implemented in clinical practice.

Indexed as

HallucinogensStudents, MedicalCross-Sectional StudiesHumansPsilocybinSelf ReportUnited KingdomHallucinogensPsilocybinCross-Sectional StudiesMEDICAL EDUCATION & TRAININGPSYCHIATRY

Identifiers

PMID38485474
PMCPMC10941112
OpenAlexW4392866789

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.