Ethical values in college education: a mixed-methods pilot study to assess health sciences students' perceptions.

BACKGROUND: Society demands a university education grounded on ethical principles. Education in ethics values is responsibility of universities but will not be viable unless also adopted by directly responsible agents, the teachers who work with the students. For this reason, our primary research objective was to conduct an in-depth analysis of how Health Sciences students self-perceive the ethical dimension. METHODS: A mixed research methodology with two phases, qualitative and quantitative, allowed us to address our research question from two complementary viewpoints. Conversational interviews were conducted in an intentional and purposive sample to identify a wide range of discursive representations. A questionnaire was designed based on previous studies and the topics of qualitative research. The response format for the questionnaire followed a Likert scale and modulators such as sex, age, degree and the score of a social desirability test were examined. RESULTS: After 24 conversational interviews, three main thematic blocks (coinciding with the three subscales of the questionnaire) were identified: "attitudes for harmony in human relations", "construction of the self" and "rules and regulations". A total of 246 students completed a questionnaire with 39 items. The total scores ranged from 93 to 152 points, with an average score of 122.72 ± 10.64 points. Responsibility, the basic rules of education and respect were perceived as the two most important values, whereas solidarity and social participation as the least important. Results showed a significant positive linear correlation between total score on the questionnaire and age and social desirability. Age was also a significant predictor for the total score and the subscale score "rules and regulations". The students´ responses seemed to be conditioned by the degree of social desirability that they present. CONCLUSIONS: The ad-hoc questionnaire captured the maintenance of high ethical values in our college undergraduate students, which may be directly related to enhanced social desirability. The scores obtained on the questionnaire were correlated with the students' age, which may indicate that values might tend to acquire progressively more importance as students grow older. Further research is warranted to delve deeper on the determinants of professionalism and ethical decision-making in college students.

Actitudes y prácticas de los médicos de atención primaria ante el diagnósticode la infección por virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana / Primary care doctors attitudes and practices in the diagnosis of HIV infection

Objetivo: Explorar las actitudes y prácticas de los médicos del primer nivel asistencial del Servicio Madrileño de Salud respecto al diagnóstico de la infección por VIH según los protocolos actuales y el grado de aceptación de la introducción de el diagnóstico de la infección VIH de forma simplificada (sin un documento aparte de consentimiento informado ni el interrogatorio acerca de las prácticas de riesgo).Material y métodos Estudio observacional descriptivo transversal realizado en atención primaria de salud de la Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid. La recogida de datos se hizo mediante encuestas telefónicas durante 2009.ResultadosSe consultó a 210 médicos. El 21% ya realizaba el diagnóstico de la infección VIH de forma simplificada y el 28,6% manifestó una actitud favorable hacia las nuevas recomendaciones. El 71,4% no pedía consentimiento informado por escrito aparte y un 42% no manifestó dificultades de comunicación. Una gran mayoría opinó que la excepcionalidad en el manejo del diagnóstico de la infección por VIH, comparándola con otras infecciones de similar forma de transmisión, podría contribuir a mantener el estigma. Para un 75,2% la falta de tiempo en la consulta no representaba un problema y un 97,1% tenía la autopercepción de ser un agente esencial en el diagnóstico de la infección por el VIH. Conclusiones La simplificación del diagnóstico de VIH es aceptable para un porcentaje elevado de los encuestados y uno de cada cinco médicos ya lo está realizando en las consultas de atención primaria (AU)

Objective: To explore the attitudes and practices of Primary Health Care professionals in the diagnosis of HIV infection according to current protocols and the degree of acceptance of simplified HIV testing(without a separate written consent and without asking about risk practices).Material and methods: An observational cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in Primary Care Centres of the Madrid Public Health Service. Data were collected by telephone surveys during 2009.Results: A total of 210 doctors were interviewed. Twenty one percent were already performing simplified HIV testing (and 28.6% expressed a favourable attitude towards the new recommendations). The majority(71.4% did not use a separate written consent for HIV testing, and 42% did not report any communication difficulties. Most of them considered that comparing HIV with other similar ways of transmission infections, making HIV testing exceptual may lead to stigma. Lack of time was not a problem for 75.2%, and97.1% considered they had an essential role in controlling the HIV epidemic. Conclusions: The acceptance of simplified HIV testing is high and is already being performed by 1 out of5 Primary Care Doctors in the Madrid Public Health Service (AU)

[Primary care doctors attitudes and practices in the diagnosis of HIV infection]. / Actitudes y prácticas de los médicos de atención primaria ante el diagnóstico de la infección por virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the attitudes and practices of Primary Health Care professionals in the diagnosis of HIV infection according to current protocols and the degree of acceptance of simplified HIV testing (without a separate written consent and without asking about risk practices). MATERIAL AND METHODS: An observational cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in Primary Care Centres of the Madrid Public Health Service. Data were collected by telephone surveys during 2009. RESULTS: A total of 210 doctors were interviewed. Twenty one percent were already performing simplified HIV testing (and 28.6% expressed a favourable attitude towards the new recommendations). The majority (71.4% did not use a separate written consent for HIV testing, and 42% did not report any communication difficulties. Most of them considered that comparing HIV with other similar ways of transmission infections, making HIV testing exceptual may lead to stigma. Lack of time was not a problem for 75.2%, and 97.1% considered they had an essential role in controlling the HIV epidemic. CONCLUSIONS: The acceptance of simplified HIV testing is high and is already being performed by 1 out of 5 Primary Care Doctors in the Madrid Public Health Service.