Healthcare Seeking Behaviour in Medical and Non-Medical Students: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study in Tangerang Indonesia

Background: Regular voluntary unpaid blood donation assures safe blood supply in association with minimum infection transmission. The purpose of this study was to identify the frequency of regular voluntary blood donation and to evaluate the causes of donating blood as well as factors impeding blood donations among the medical and nonmedical students of Karachi. Methods: A comparative cross sectional study was conducted among medical and nonmedical students of JSMU and NED University respectively from May to October 2018. Sample size was 272 including 137 medical and 135 non-medical students. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. Chi-square test of independence/ Fischer’s exact test were applied to assess statistical significance. Result: In medical group 5/21(23.8%) voluntary regular donors were recorded. In non-medical group, voluntary regular donors were found to be 8/30 (26.6%) (p>0.00). Medical students most commonly 15/21 (71.4%) donated blood voluntarily in a camp while non-medical participants frequently donated blood as replacement donors 13/30 (43.3%) (p>0.00). Major hindering factor for blood donation in both study groups was non-participation in blood donation derives i.e. 66/116 (56.8%) in medical and 53/105 (50.4%) in non-medical groups respectively. Anemia, 20/116 (17.2%) in medical and 15/105 (14.2%) in nonmedical students was the second major cause of not donating blood. Conclusion: The frequency of regular voluntary blood donations is very low among undergraduates. However, comparatively, the trend is slightly higher among non-medical group. The major hindrance in not donating blood was non-participation in blood donating derives.

Background: Perceptions of exercise benefits and barriers in medical and non- medical students needs to be explored as it is expected that medical students have more awareness regarding physical activities. Objective: To compare the perception of exercise benefits and barriers among medical and non-medical students. Methodology: This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in 6 months from November 2020 to April 2020, on sample of n=289 regular male and female students in the age range of 19-27 years. The data of final year medical students was collected from Azra Naheed Medical College and nonmedical students from Superior University, Lahore Through on probability convenient sampling technique. The perception of exercise benefits and barriers was assessed using the exercise benefit/barrier scale (EBBS). The data was carried out by an online Google form due to the pandemic situation. The independent sample t-test was used to estimate of difference among both groups. Results: The mean age of the participants was 23.75±2.11 years. A total of n=164(56.74%) were males and n=125 (43.25%) were females. The result of independent t-test showed no significant difference between medical and non-medical students regarding exercise benefit (91.2±11.66 ver. 91.09±12.83, p=0.93) and barriers (34.97±7.22 ver. 35.27±7.62, p=0.72) as well in total score of EBBS (126.23±14.450 ver. 125.81±16.390, p=0.810).Conclusion: It is concluded that medical and non-medical final year students are equally aware about exercise benefits and barriers. Keywords: Benefits, BarriersExercise, Medical students, non-medical students, hysical activity, Perception

Aim:To evaluate the factors that motivate and discourage medical and nonmedical students from donating blood voluntarily and to assess the level of awareness and knowledge regarding blood donation.Materials and Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study from August 2011 to May 2012 across different universities of Karachi covering both private and public sector. Predesigned questionnaires were filled by students. A total of 690 students participated in the study, 345 from each. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS Version 17.0. Simple frequencies and percentages were calculated, and Pearson Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were applied to calculate association between different variables with P value set as significant when <0.05.Results:Mean age of the students was found to be between 21 and 23 (64.6%) in medical, whereas in nonmedical, 66.7% fell in this age group. Astonishingly, blood donors in nonmedical (27%) were quite more than that in medical group, where they were only 18%. Males constituted the majority in both of the groups. Most commonly reported factor that motivated blood donation in medical group was feeling of self-satisfaction (40.2%), whereas in nonmedical group, 32.9% reported that they had only donated blood when their friends/family were in need. When asked about the adverse effects after blood donation, weakness was common among both medical and nonmedical, i.e. 46.8% and 46.7%, respectively. Among the factors that impeded our subjects from donating blood were primarily health concerns in medical students (19%), whereas in nonmedical students they claimed they were not approached by anyone and were unaware of the importance of blood donation (34.8%).Conclusion:Proportion of blood donors was significantly low in both medical and nonmedical students, especially in females. Most important motivating factor in medical students was feeling of self–satisfaction, whereas in nonmedical students, it was family/friend in need of blood transfusion. Never approached by anyone/awareness about the importance of donating blood was the major discouragement factor seen in both medical and nonmedical groups.

Background: High dietary salt is intertwined with high blood pressure and can lead to cardiovascular diseases. Bangladeshi population is habituated with high salt intake including added salt use during meal which is also noticeable among doctors and faculties. Again, there was no any information among Bangladeshi medical and nonmedical students addressing this issue. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and behavior about dietary salt among Bangladeshi medical and nonmedical undergraduate students as well as also to compare findings. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted among 280 medical and nonmedical undergraduate students in Dhaka city with equal number of students from each group. Medical students were from MBBS and physiotherapy background, whereas nonmedical students were from business, law, engineering and pharmacy background recruited by purposive sampling technique for institutions and respondents both. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire developed with the help of WHO Modified Salt Module of STEPS Questionnaire. Data were managed accordingly and analyzed by SPSS-21 in terms of both descriptive and comparative statistics. All of the ethical issues were maintained accordingly prior to collection of data from each respondents. Results: Men dominated in both groups (medical, 59.3% and nonmedical, 64.3%) and the mean age of the respondents was 22.0±2.0 and 21.8±1.9 years in medical and nonmedical group respectively. Medical students possessed more knowledge and showed more positive attitude towards dietary salt intake than the nonmedical students. There were significant differences between the groups regarding the perception on health effect of salt (p, 0.005) and importance of lowering salt (p, 0.040). Nonmedical students were significantly more habituated in practicing added salt (p, 0.001) and high salt contained processed food (p, 0.012) than the counterpart. Conclusion: Medical students had better knowledge, attitude and less practicing habit towards dietary salt. Yet, health education program is needed for both groups especially for the nonmedical group regarding to encourage less dietary salt practice.

BackgroundThe Covid-19 pandemic has affected all areas of society, including students. However, medical students have faced many challenges due to direct contact with patients. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating and comparing the quality of life (QoL), anxiety and mindfulness between Iranian medical and non-medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodFive hundred and six students (both medical and non-medical students) participated in the study from August to October 2022 with a convenience sampling method. The data were collected using an online questionnaire including a demographic form, the QoL Questionnaire (WHOQOL- BREF), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item survey (GAD‐7) and the Relaxation/Meditation/Mindfulness Tracker t-Persian version survey (RMMt-P). Pearson correlation and independent t-test and multivariate linear regression were used to determine the relationship between the study variables.ResultsThe samples included 272 medical students and 234 non-medical students with a mean age of 21.99 ± 3.46 and 24.17 ± 6.54 years respectively. Most of the medical and non-medical students were female, single and had a bachelor’s degree. The mean scores of medical and non-medical students’ QoL during the COVID-19 pandemic were 57.86 ± 13.26 and 56.75 ± 14.42, respectively which indicates the higher quality of life of medical students. Anxiety and mindfulness predicted 29% of the variance of the QoL in the medical students, while anxiety and mindfulness and having a chronic disease predicted 30% of the variance of the QoL in the non-medical students. No significant difference existed in the QoL and its subscales during the COVID-19 pandemic between medical and non-medical students (p > 0.05). There was a significant difference in terms of anxiety (p = 0.02) and mindfulness (p = 0.03) between medical and non-medical students during the prevalence of COVID-19.Discussion and conclusionThe findings of the present study indicated that medical students exhibited lower levels of anxiety and higher levels of mindfulness. Therefore, interventions aimed at reducing anxiety and increasing mindfulness among non-medical students are necessary. It is recommended that preventive approaches and psychological interventions to improve students’ quality of life become an integral part of crisis response during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, reducing anxiety and enhancing mindfulness can improve the quality of education and professional performance of medical students, while also contributing to their mental well-being and effective clinical communication.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in a plethora of psychological problems worldwide since its onset in December 2019. In the upheaval period, compared with medical college students, nonmedical students' psychological state deserves additional concern due to their lack of medical knowledge. Although the epidemic in China has been largely controlled for several months, the mental health problems resulting from the COVID-19 epidemic persist to this day. In this study, we assessed the mental health problems and associated risk factors experienced by nonmedical vs. medical college students in universities of Shandong Province during the COVID-19 epidemic recovery period.Methods: An online survey was conducted over the period from 17 to 19 December 2020. A total of 954 Chinese college students (486 nonmedical and 468 medical students) from three universities of Shandong Province participated in the survey. Mental health variables were assessed with use of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Insomnia Severity Index (ISI).Results: Compared with medical students, nonmedical college students had higher prevalence rates of depression (53.9 vs. 46.4%; p = 0.020) and insomnia (28.0 vs. 22.4%, p = 0.049), as well as higher total scores on the PHQ-9 (p = 0.03) and ISI (p < 0.01). Among nonmedical college students, being female and native of non-Shandong were risk factors for anxiety and depression (p < 0.01), while only native of non-Shandong for insomnia (p < 0.01). Among medical students, age (p < 0.01) and living in rural areas (p = 0.04) were risk factors for depression, while only age (p < 0.05) was a risk factor for anxiety and insomnia.Conclusion: Nonmedical college students in the universities of Shandong Province had more mental health problems and more risk factors for developing them during the COVID-19 epidemic recovery period than medical students. These nonmedical students require additional attention and recovery programs to alleviate the increased incidence of psychological problems related to COVID-19.

Previous studies in the world reported inconsistent results about the relationship of medical professional education with medical students' smoking behaviors, and no similar research had been published in China. This paper aims to explore whether the differences of smoking-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors existed between medical and non-medical undergraduate students. Eight thousand one hundred thirty-eight undergraduate students sampled from a university in Guangzhou were investigated with a self-administered structured questionnaire about their smoking-related knowledge, attitude and behaviors, and other relevant factors. General linear model and multinomial logistic regression were conducted to test the differences in smoking-related knowledge, attitude, and behaviors between medical and non-medical students while controlling for potential confounding variables. There was no difference in smoking-related knowledge scores between medical and non-medical freshmen, but medical sophomores and juniors had higher scores of smoking-related knowledge than their non-medical counterparts. The medical sophomores had higher mean score of attitudes towards smoking than non-medical ones. Before entering university, the difference in the prevalence of experimental and regular smoking between medical and non-medical college students was not significant. After entering university, in contrast, the overall prevalence of regular smoking was significantly higher among male non-medical college students than among male medical students. Stratified by current academic year, this difference was significant only among male sophomores. Medical students have higher smoking-related knowledge, stronger anti-smoking attitude, and lower prevalence of regular smoking than non-medical college students of similar age, which may be associated with medical professional education.

BACKGROUND:Many medical students, junior doctors, and other health-care professionals have been affected by the negative experience of bullying. Research is scarce on bullying experienced by medical and nonmedical students in Saudi Arabia unlike what is found in Western countries. It is unclear whether being a nonmedical student modifies the risk of being bullied.MATERIALS AND METHODS:A cross-sectional study included 400 university students using convenient sampling. The sample comprised 295 students who responded and were stratified into medical (n = 176) and nonmedical (n = 119) groups. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 was used to analyze our data. Normality was measured using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Statistical significance was tested using chi-square test for categorical variables, and t-test for continuous variables.RESULTS:Almost half of the respondents were found to have experienced some bullying, victimization, or other harassment during their medical education. The most common forms of bullying were verbal abuse and undue pressure to produce work (43.8%; n = 77). Nonmedical students experienced more bullying than medical students and were more likely to be female, single, and younger in age. The number of medical students subjected to sexual harassment (1.7%; n = 3) was higher than nonmedical students (0.8%; n = 1). Physical violence was more towards nonmedical (4.2%; n = 5) than medical students (1.1%, n = 2). The rates of bullying continue to be associated with anxiety and depression.CONCLUSIONS:Our data suggest similar bullying rates in the developed world but higher than previously reported in a Saudi study. Bullying or harassment affects both medical and nonmedical students and is associated with high levels of anxiety and depression.

Objective - To assess smoking-related be haviour, beliefs, and attitudes of students at different medical schools in Turkey, in comparison to those of students in non medical schools. Design - First- and final-year medical and nonmedical (science) students from seven universities located in different geographical areas in Turkey replied anonymously to an adapted World Health Organisation questionnaire in Turkish. Subjects - First-, fourth- and sixth (final) year medical students (total 3073) and first- and fourth- (final) year non medical students (total 2401) from dif ferent universities. Results - The prevalence of daily smok ing among first-year medical students (both sexes combined) was 11.8% (range 8.7-14.9% for the universities), signifi cantly lower than that of nonmedical first-year students (21.0%, range 12.1 28.4%) (p 0.05). Daily smoking prevalence for medical students was three times higher among males (30.5 %) than females (10.1 %), but was twice as high in nonmedical students (32.4% for males and 16.4% for females). A serious attempt to quit had been made by 45.0% of smokers in medical and 47.9% in nonmedical schools (p > 0.05); 30.6% of smokers in medical and 27.2% in non medical schools thought that they would no longer smoke in five years' time (p > 0.05). 87.9% of medical and 85.7% of nonmedical students believed smoking to be harmful to health. In medical schools, there were important defects in know ledge of smoking as a major cause of pulmonary emphysema, coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, neo natal mortality, and bladder cancer. There were also important defects both in knowledge and motivation regarding counselling patients to stop smoking and the role of doctors in antismoking cam paigns. Legislative measures against smoking were equally likely to be sup ported by medical and nonmedical students. Conclusions - Smoking was much more prevalent among Turkish than among US, Australian, European, Asian (includ ing Japan but not Russia) and African medical students. This study indicates that the current system of medical edu cation in Turkey has little or no effect on the attitudes and behaviour of students regarding smoking.

This study compares data from two medical student cohorts early in their training from New Zealand and Hong Kong and then makes further comparisons with a non-medical group. Questionnaires obtained information regarding educational site (universities situated in New Zealand, Hong Kong, and USA), gender, age, motivational beliefs, quality of life, and competitiveness. The study was split into two phases. The first phase focused on measuring and comparing the learning and wellbeing variables of two medical student cohorts. The second phase focussed on making further comparisons with non-medical student groups. Responses were elicited from 353 students in medically oriented courses and 688 students with a non-medical orientation. For phase 1, the results indicated differences between the two medical student groups on measures of self-efficacy, intrinsic value, enjoyment of competition, and physical quality of life. For phase 2, differences between the medical and non-medical student groups were noted for self-efficacy, intrinsic value, enjoyment of competition, contentiousness, and physical and social quality of life. The results provide insights into medical and non-medical students' learning and wellbeing experiences from multi-national, multi-discipline perspectives. The results suggest that wellbeing issues of students are likely context-specific and moderated by region, curriculum, gender, and culture.

Background: Worldwide, smoking is a serious threat to public health. Since university students make up a significant portion of the community, research on their smoking habits, knowledge and attitude would be interesting. The unique nature of being a medical student, who is expected to know enough, can alter the smoking percentage and attitude. So, our objectives were to compare the percentage of smoking among medical to that among non-medical students and to assess the difference in their knowledge and attitude towards smoking and smoking cessation methods. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted at four faculties: two faculties of the medical sector and two of the nonmedical. There were 182 students in each group. A semi-structured questionnaire was designed and participants were asked about their current smoking state, knowledge about smoking and smoking cessation, attitude towards smoking andintention to quit smoking.Results: There was a statistically significant difference between medical and non-medical students regarding the percentage of smoking, with 24.7 percent of non-medical students being smokers versus only 9.9% of medical students. When compared to non-medical students, medical students had significantly higher knowledge about possibility of smoking cessation and nicotine replacement therapy. However, the intention to stop smoking was higher among non-medical smokers (86.8%) than among medical smokers (70.5%).Conclusion: A higher percentage of smoking was reported among the non-medical students. This can be attributed to poorer knowledge about the available interventions to help quit smoking. This emphasizes the importance of sponsoring educational anti-smoking activities for university students.

-Background: Self-medication is a widespread practice among university students, often driven by perceived medical knowledge, convenience, and cost-saving. While medical students are assumed to be more informed, their actual behaviours and awareness levels compared to non-medical peers remain underexplored, especially in developing countries like Pakistan. This knowledge gap hinders targeted educational and regulatory interventions. Objective: This study aimed to compare the prevalence and risk awareness of self-medication practices among medical and non-medical undergraduate students at Superior University, assessing the influence of academic background on medication behaviours and associated implications for healthcare safety. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students (n = 113) from medical (n = 74) and non-medical (n = 39) disciplines at Superior University, Lahore. Participants were recruited via convenience sampling, with inclusion criteria including enrolment at the undergraduate level and voluntary participation. Data were collected using a structured, validated questionnaire assessing self-medication frequency, drug types, sources of information, and risk awareness. Ethical approval was obtained from the Department of Emerging Allied Health Technologies, and the study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki. Data were analysed using SPSS v27, employing descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests for group comparisons. Results: Self-medication was more prevalent among medical students (59.5%) than non-medical students (46.2%). While 63.5% of medical students reported being aware of associated risks, the difference in awareness levels between groups was not statistically significant (χ² = 1.856, p = 0.395). These findings suggest that despite greater academic exposure; medical students may not exhibit proportionally safer behaviours. Conclusion: Self-medication is common among both student groups, with medical students demonstrating higher prevalence but not significantly greater risk awareness. These findings underline the need for integrated educational modules and policy-level interventions to promote responsible medication use and mitigate long-term public health risks

Introduction: The integration of Artificial Intelligence into educational methodologies, particularly AI-enhanced collaborative learning (AI-ECL), has garnered significant attention in recent years. AI promises to transform educational experiences by enhancing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate and compare the experiences, perceptions, and outcomes of AI-ECL among undergraduate medical and non-medical students in various colleges in Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted with 195 undergraduate students, including 101 medical and 94 non-medical students. Data were collected through a pre-tested self-administered, closed ended proforma and analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests to assess differences between the two groups. Results: The findings revealed that a majority of medical (85.1%) and non-medical (80.9%) students reported using AI tools for learning or assignments. Medical students were more likely to trust AI with personal data and believed in its significant role in the future of education (92.1% vs. 77.7%). Significant differences were noted in AI usage for medical studies (p &lt; 0.001) and trust in AI handling personal data (p = 0.019). However, both groups expressed similar confidence in using AI for learning. Conclusion: AI-ECL was positively perceived by both groups, but medical students showed higher acceptance and trust. Addressing these trust issues is essential, along with ensuring AI tools meet the specific needs of different disciplines to enhance educational outcomes.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly spread worldwide, and it was officially declared to be a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. COVID-19 is associated with increasing morbidity and mortality and has impacted the lives of the global populations.&#x0D; Aim: To compare the knowledge of medical and non-medical students at Jordanian universities in issues related to COVID-19 and to evaluate the psychological and behavioural changes in Jordanian students’ lives following directly/indirectly exposure to the COVID-19.&#x0D; Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional online survey was sent to a convenience sample in Jordanian universities through social media (Facebook and WhatsApp) between 16th of June and 30th of June 2020. The questionnaire was designed to collect the demographic, participant’s source of information regarding COVID-19, knowledge on COVID-19, the psychological consequences of COVID-19, impact of COVID-19 on participant’s behaviour. The final version of the questionnaire was further tested for content validity by experts in the field. Chi-square test was used to find significant differences between the two groups.&#x0D; Results: A total of 912 participants completed the survey, with 507(55.6%) being medical students and 405(44.4%) being non-medical students. About 90% of students believed in the existence of corona virus (n=817), but not in the seriousness of the infection (n=85, 9.3%). The majority 82.2% (n=750) agreed that the fake news on social media caused panic situations. A total of 275 medical students avoided following news as compared to 187 non-medical students, and the difference was statistically significant (p-value = 0.003). There were 438 medical students and 338 non medical students who avoided leaving the house for unnecessary needs (p-value = 0.004).&#x0D; Conclusion: Medical students had better knowledge and were more aware on COVID-19 than that of non-medical students; for this reason, medical students tended to change their behaviours in a good way. The current pandemic seems to impact the psychology of the both groups with no difference significant.

Thalassemia is a very common hemoglobinopathy that is present worldwide. When one of alpha and beta chains is not present in hemoglobin or is present in lesser amounts it causes thalassemia. 9 million population of Pakistan are carriers of thalassemia. 5% of the world’s cases of thalassemia are from Pakistan. This study is designed to check thalassemia awareness among medical and non-medical students. This was a cross-sectional study. 112 students were taken to answer the questionnaire through a non-random sampling technique. Out of the total participants, 57% were female respondents and 43% were male. Similarly, medical students were 58% and non-medical students were 42%. Of these, 81% medical and 57.1% of non-medical students knew that thalassemia is a genetic disorder. 64.5% of medical and 47.8% of non-medical students thought that there was a cure for thalassemia. Medical and non-medical students of 92% and 63.6% respectively, knew that thalassemia is treated with red blood cell exchange. 54.8% medical and 25% non-medical students knew that thalassemia is not contagious. It is concluded that medical students have more awareness of thalassemia than non-medical students. Medical students have more knowledge about the treatment and contagiousness of this disorder.