ABSTRACT
Background and Objective: HIV and AIDS is a major global health problem. The lack of knowledge and misconceptions about its modes of transmission among the public, medical students, and healthcare professionals is accountable for the rapid spread of HIV, social stigmatization and discrimination of HIV infected patients. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and awareness about HIV and AIDS and also to know the attitude of medical students towards HIV and AIDS patients. Materials and methods: A total of 117 medical students of the 5th year participated voluntarily in this descriptive cross-sectional study. The data was collected in a pretested questionnaire, tabulated and analyzed in Microsoft Excel and SPSS software version 22. The quantitative data were expressed in terms of numbers and percentages. Results: The knowledge among students about HIV is satisfactory. All students (100%) were aware of HIV and AIDS, and its causative agent. The majority of students were aware of modes of transmission, diagnostic tests, and major preventive measures. However, only a few students were aware of the availability of anti-retroviral drugs for treating HIV, few had an erroneous belief that HIV is curable and vaccine-preventable. The study also observed misconceptions among students (12-40%) about spreading of HIV such as by mosquito bite, handshaking, sharing toilets, utensils, and food. Conclusion: From the results of our study, it is suggested that there is a need for an implementation of HIV and AIDS training programs at regular intervals to medical students at the beginning of their inception into a medical course. This would reduce the knowledge, attitude, and practice gap among medical students.
ABSTRACT
Background: Medical education in the last two decades has shifted from teacher-centered methods to studentcentered methods, where students are learning through active participation. Clinical case-based learning (CBL) was found to be one of the excellent approaches to promote students learning. It enhances their critical thinking, problem-solving ability, knowledge retention, and exam preparation. The objective of the current study was to assess students’ perception on the usefulness of CBL approach in Microbiology and Immunology course. Methodology: This study was conducted at College of Medicine and Health Sciences among 5th-year medical students of 2017- 2018 batch. The study design included pretest, CBL discussion on selected topics, and the posttest after the CBL session. The data were collected, tabulated, and statistically analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 22. The student’s “t” test was used to compare pretest and posttest results and the p<0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: A total of 114 fifth year medical students participated in the study. Majority of the students were in favor of CBL activity. More than 85% of the students stated that they enjoyed the activity and about 80% indicated CBL activity improved their critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and clinical reasoning. Majority of the students (90.35%) said it improved their knowledge retention and about 64.04% stated that it improved their exam grades. The difference between pretest and posttest scores was statistically significant with p<0.05. Conclusion: CBL is an excellent educational tool to motivate and promote students learning. It enhances students’ analytical thinking, clinical reasoning, conceptualization, and knowledge retention. It also benefits students in terms of their better examination preparation and performance.