Abstract
BackgroundStudent absenteeism is a major concern for university education worldwide. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and causes of absenteeism among undergraduate medical and health sciences students at Hawassa University.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study using a pretested self-administered structured questionnaire from May-June 2013. The primary outcome indicator was self-reported absenteeism from lectures in the semester preceding the study period. The study included all regular undergraduate students who were enrolled in the University for at least one semester. The data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20. The association between class absenteeism and socio-demographic and behavioral correlates of absenteeism was determined by bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results were reported as crude odds ratios (COR), adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).Results1200 students consented and filled the questionnaire. Of these students, 43.7% had missed three or more lectures and 14.1% (95% CI = 12.2-16.2) missed more than 8 lectures in the preceding semester. There was a significant association between missing more than 8 lectures and age of students, chosen discipline (medicine), and social drug use. The main reasons reported for missing lectures were preparing for another examination, lack of interest, lecturer’s teaching style, and availability of lecture material.ConclusionAt Hawassa University College of Medicine and Health Science student habits and teacher performance play a role in absenteeism from lectures. A university culture that promotes discipline and integrity especially among medical and older students discourages social drug use will likely improve motivation and attendance. Training in teaching methodologies to improve the quality and delivery of lectures should also help increase attendance.
Highlights
Student absenteeism is a major concern for university education worldwide
This could be attributed to two reasons: 1) the likelihood that the majority of health science students are assigned to the field probably against their choice; 2) even though medical students elect to be on the medical track, they may find the course work more rigorous and demanding
Missing lectures was associated with age of students, field of study, social drug use, lack of interest in the subject matter, and disliking the teaching style of the instructors
Summary
Student absenteeism is a major concern for university education worldwide. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and causes of absenteeism among undergraduate medical and health sciences students at Hawassa University. Student absenteeism at lectures is a major concern in Hawassa University. Absenteeism is an on-going problem in Ethiopian universities; a phenomenon that is on the rise in universities worldwide [1,2,3]. Absenteeism has been shown to be an indicator of low level of motivation for learning [1]. There is extensive literature on the link between absenteeism and lack of subject matter interest, poor teaching strategies, unfavorable learning environment, excessive socialization among students, part-time jobs, ill health, sleeplessness, and poor relations with lecturers [1,2,4,5,6]. Accessibility of lecture content in the form of online slides, videos, audios have their own contribution to absenteeism [7,8,9,10,11]
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