Abstract
BackgroundToday’s medical students are the future physicians of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). It is therefore essential that medical students possess the appropriate knowledge and attitudes regarding PLWHA. This study aims to evaluate knowledge and attitudes of pre-clinical Israeli medical students and to assess whether their knowledge and attitudes change throughout their pre-clinical studies.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among all pre-clinical medical students from the four medical schools in Israel during the academic year of 2010/2011 (a total of 1,470 students). A self-administered questionnaire was distributed. The questionnaire sought student responses pertaining to knowledge of HIV transmission and non-transmission routes, basic knowledge of HIV/AIDS treatment and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS.ResultsThe study’s response rate was 62.24 percent. Knowledge among pre-clinical medical students was generally high and showed a statistically significant improvement as students progressed through their pre-clinical studies. However, there were some misconceptions, mostly regarding HIV transmission via breastfeeding and knowledge of HIV prevention after exposure to the virus. Students’ attitudes were found to include stigmatizing notions. Furthermore, the majority of medical students correlated HIV with shame and fear. In addition, students’ attitudes toward HIV testing and providing confidential medical information were contradictory to health laws, protocols and guidelines. Overall, no positive changes in students’ attitudes were observed during the pre-clinical years of medical school.ConclusionThe knowledge of pre-clinical medical students in Israel is generally high, although there are some knowledge inadequacies that require more emphasis in the curricula of the medical schools. Contrary to HIV-related knowledge, medical students’ attitudes are unaffected by their progression through medical school. Therefore, medical schools in Israel should modify their curricula to include teaching methods aimed at improving HIV-related attitudes and adherence to medical professionalism.
Highlights
Today’s medical students are the future physicians of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA)
Pre-clinical medical students in Israel today still have gaps in their knowledge regarding the subject of HIV/AIDS, especially when concerning transmission via breast milk and the possibility of preventing HIV infection after exposure to the virus
The results of this study demonstrated an overall improvement in knowledge among students as they progressed through their pre-clinical studies, the reality is that HIV/AIDS knowledge is not sufficiently comprehensive among students prior to starting their clinical years
Summary
Today’s medical students are the future physicians of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). It is essential that medical students possess the appropriate knowledge and attitudes regarding PLWHA. This study aims to evaluate knowledge and attitudes of pre-clinical Israeli medical students and to assess whether their knowledge and attitudes change throughout their pre-clinical studies. A better understanding of the students’ prior knowledge and attitudes towards HIV/ AIDS will serve as a tool to create better educational programs dealing with stigma and encouraging empathy towards patients. In all four medical schools, there are only 3–4 hours each pre-clinical year dedicated to subjects such as ethics and medical legal issues. To our knowledge there are no specific programs in any of the four schools dedicated to addressing and dealing with stigma toward specific patient populations
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