The Perception, Emotional Experiences and Cultural attachments of Ethiopian Medical Students during Human Cadaver Dissection

Abstract

Human cadaver dissection has been used as an instructional methodology in Anatomy for centuries and remains time-honored and accepted method. However, initial exposure to cadaver dissection has been found to evoke emotional reactions in medical students, and has raised concern. Previous studies report that some students experience stress and even psychological trauma, with a concern about exposure to disease during dissection. The emotional experiences and coping strategies may also be affected by cultural differences between medical students. The main aim of this study is to assess and compare medical students’ perception, emotional experiences and the impact of cultural attachment on the dissection of the human cadaver. A longitudinal survey was conducted focusing on cultural identity, prior experience with cadaver dissection, emotional experiences, and coping strategies in a medical school of Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia in 2018. Data were collected at three time points a week before initial exposure to dissection (time 1), a week after the first encounter (time 2), and at the end of cadaver dissection (time 3). Findings indicate that self-rated perception of evoked emotional experiences enjoyable, stimulating, exhilarating, and interesting increased across the three time points, while scary, depressing, unbearable, and anxiety-provoking emotions significantly decreased. These results suggest that while cultural attachment appears to affect the rate of change over time in several different emotional responses, religious affiliation (Christian, Muslim) or an ethnic background (Amhara, Oromo or others) per se, do not manifest any significant differences across these emotional experiences, nor the rate at which they change for individuals in the sample.