Assessment of students" perspectives about master of public health program in medical school of Shiraz University

Introduction: Integration of public health and medical education has been thought to have an important role in medical students' training. Shiraz University of Medical Sciences has developed an MD/MPH dual degree educational program for the talented volunteer students. The aim of this study was to assess the students' viewpoints about various aspects of Shiraz MD/MPH program

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on Shiraz undergraduate medical students, who were enrolled in MD/MPH program. A self-structured questionnaire in Persian consisting of 4 parts was used; it included demographic factors including 16 questions which evaluated the students' perspective of the goals, content, skill development, applicability and meeting their expectations; 7 questions evaluating the self-reported increase of knowledge; and 3 multiple choice questions to assess the students' motivations and opinions on the impact of the program on their future career. Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis

Results: All MD/MPH students [89] with a mean age of 21.4 +/- 1.34 participated in this study. Forty one of the students [46.1%] were male and 48 [53.9%] female. Overall, 86.1% of them had positive views about the goals of the program; also, 83.5%, 81.2% and 81.9% of them reported a positive viewpoint about the contents, the applicability and development of specific skills, and meeting their expectations, respectively. The students' most frequent motivation was [learning how to research systematically] [73%]. The majority of the students reported this program to be moderately to highly effective in increasing their knowledge in the provided courses

Conclusion: The students had a positive view about almost all of the aspects of the MD/MPH program; this may be indicative of the program being successful in delivering the goals, increasing the students' knowledge and skills, and meeting their expectations to date. Students' enthusiasm for the educational program may lead to their motivation for better learning and thus in the program's success

Iranian healthcare workers' perspective on hand hygiene: a qualitative study

Hand hygiene [HH] has been identified as one of the simplest, but most important, methods to prevent cross-infection in healthcare facilities. In spite of this fact, the HH compliance rate remains low among healthcare workers [HCWs]. Several factors may affect HH behavior. In this study, we aimed to assess various aspects of HH from the perspective of HCWs. This qualitative study was conducted in two hospital settings in Shiraz, Iran. Eight focus group discussions [FGDs] and six in-depth interview sessions were held with ICU and surgical ward nurses, attending physicians, medical and nursing students and supporting staff. Each FGD and interview was transcribed verbatim, open codes were extracted, and thematic analysis was conducted. Three themes emerged from the thematic analysis including: "the relationship between personal factors and HH compliance," "the relationship between environmental factors and HH compliance" and "the impact of the health system on HH adherence, including the role of adequate health systems, administrative obligations and the effect of surveillance systems." Several factors played a significant role in improving HCWs HH compliance, such as the regular adherence to health system tenets. HH compliance may be improved through application of realistic policies and better supervision. In addition, appropriate education may positively affect HH behavior and attitudes