Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38702647›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2024

Cluster analysis of medical students' attitudes regarding people who use drugs: a first step to design a tailored education program.

Lou Richelle, Michele Dramaix-Wilmet, Quentin Vanderhofstadt, Charles Kornreich

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Article in BMC medical education, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Lou RichelleUnité de Recherche en Soins Primaires ULB, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium. lou.richelle@ulb.be.
Michele Dramaix-WilmetDépartement d'Epidémiologie et de Biostatistiques, School of Public Health, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
Quentin VanderhofstadtUnité de Recherche en Soins Primaires ULB, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
Charles KornreichUnité de Recherche en Soins Primaires ULB, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionPeople with substance use disorder (SUD) deal with stigmatization in various areas of life, including healthcare system. In this study, we investigated the attitudes of final-year medical students towards SUD people and attempted to understand their influence.

methodsWe conducted a two-stage cluster analysis (hierarchical ascending classification followed by K-means clustering) based on the "beSAAS". We administrated this 23-item questionnaire to 923 final-year medical students in Belgium (response rate = 71,1%). Sociodemographic characteristics were compared between the clusters.

resultsFour clusters of students with specific characteristics were identified in this study. The first, "The Inclusives" (including 27,9% of respondents) had the least negative attitudes; they wanted to specialize mainly in psychiatry and gynecology. The second, "The Centrists" (23,6%) consisted mainly of male students. They had many private and professional experiences with substance use and considered themselves less healthy than others did. Most wanted to specialize in pediatrics and general practice. Their attitudes were slightly negative towards people with SUD. The third, "The Moralists" (27,6%), were mainly older, from non-European countries, had the least experience with substance use (or contact mainly in hospitals), had the less high mother's level of education and reported excellent health. They were heading toward other specialties. They had the most stereotypes and moralism, and less treatment optimism. The fourth, "The Specialist care-oriented" (20,8%), were the most in favor of specialized treatment. This group had a higher proportion of Belgian, females, and students who had specific contact with this population. They especially intended to specialize in internal medicine.

conclusionThis study revealed 4 profiles of medical students with different attitudes towards SUD people. "The Moralists", including more than a quarter of the respondents, were characterized by strong stereotypes and moralism and little treatment optimism. These clusters could contribute to the design of a learner-centered program aimed at addressing stigma within the main curriculum.

Indexed as

Attitude of Health PersonnelStudents, MedicalSubstance-Related DisordersAdultBelgiumCluster AnalysisEducation, Medical, UndergraduateFemaleHumansMaleSurveys and QuestionnairesYoung AdultAttitudesCluster analysisEducationMedical studentsSubstance use disorder

Identifiers

PMID38702647
PMCPMC11067200

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