Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41587450›Full record

ArticleJMIR medical education2026

Exploring the Icarus Paradox in Indonesia's Specialist Medical Education System Using the Public Perspective From Online Media: Convergent Mixed Methods Study.

Mohammad Hamsal

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR medical education, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. 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

1 author.

Mohammad HamsalBinus University, Binus Business School Doctor of Research in Management, Binus University, Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia.ORCID 0000-0003-4472-2964

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe Icarus Paradox in health care refers to the tension between the ambition to succeed as a specialist doctor and the limitations of the medical education system. Indonesia aspires to produce quality doctors, yet limited infrastructure and resources hinder the educational journey of prospective specialists.

objectiveThis study aimed to identify the Icarus Paradox in Indonesia's specialist medical education by examining prospective specialist medical students and the quality of health services and by analyzing how this paradox is reflected in society's perspectives.

methodsUsing a convergent mixed methods design, this study integrated quantitative content analysis of 5047 online reviews across multiple platforms with qualitative thematic and cognitive analysis using NVivo 14, combining sentiment classification and topic coding.

resultsTwitter contributed 573 (11.3%) of 5047 reviews, with 218 (38%) negative, 251 (43.8%) neutral, and 104 (18.2%) positive entries. TikTok generated 282 (5.6%) reviews, the majority being neutral (n=225, 79.5%). YouTube produced 96 (1.9%) reviews, with 89 (92.7%) neutral entries. News platforms exhibited the largest volume (n=3040, 60.2%) of reviews, with 2885 (94.9%) neutral, 105 (3.5%) positive, and 50 (1.6%) negative entries. Blogs and websites contributed 353 (7%) and 692 (11.3%) reviews, respectively, with neutral sentiment dominating (n=329, 93.2%, for blogs and n=599, 86.6%, for websites). Three cognitive perspectives demonstrated the Icarus Paradox in the Indonesian medical education system: education system, society's views of students, and health care services. Although there are aspirations to improve education and health care quality, these ambitions often collide with structural challenges, such as resource shortages, heavy workloads, and limited accessibility, which link directly to cognitive themes of stress, resilience, and ethical dilemmas. We proposed a conceptual model to illustrate these dynamics.

conclusionsOur findings offer insights into the Icarus Paradox in Indonesia's medical education system, highlighting its complexity and reinforcing the need for systemic reform. Beyond academic relevance, the findings also emphasize the importance of strengthening student mental health support, ensuring equitable access to health care, and enhancing regulatory oversight of training. This was not a clinical trial. Although limited by reliance on online reviews, the results underscore the urgent need for targeted policy interventions in medical education and health care services.

Indexed as

Education, MedicalSocial MediaSpecializationStudents, MedicalHumansIndonesiaQuality of Health Careaspirationscommunity perspectiveIcarus Paradoxmedical educationonline reviewsrealitiesstudent well-being

Identifiers

PMID41587450
PMCPMC12887558

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.