The Health Policy Attitudes of American Medical Students: A Pilot Survey

Background

Relatively little is known about American medical student’s attitudes toward caring for the uninsured, limiting physician reimbursement and the role of cost-effectiveness data in medical decision-making. We assessed American medical student’s attitudes regarding these topics as well as demographic predictors of those attitudes, and compared them to practicing physicians.

Methods and Findings

A survey instrument was explicitly designed to compare medical student attitudes with those previously reported by physicians. Between December 1st 2010 and March 27th 2011 survey responses were collected from more than 2% of the total estimated 2010–2011 US medical student population enrolled at 111 of 159 accredited US medical schools within the 50 United States (n = 2414 of possible 98197). Medical students were more likely to object to reimbursement cuts, and more likely to object to the use of cost effectiveness data in medical decision making than current physicians according to the literature. Specialty preference, political persuasion, and medical student debt were significant predictors of health policy attitudes. Medical students with anticipated debt in excess of $200,000 were significantly less willing to favor limiting reimbursement to improve patient access (OR: 0.73 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.59–0.89]), and significantly more likely to object to using cost effectiveness data to limit treatments (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.05–1.60) when compared to respondents with anticipated debt less than $200,000.

Conclusions

When compared to physicians in the literature, future physicians may be less willing to favor cuts to physician reimbursements and may be more likely to object to the use of cost effectiveness data. Political orientation, specialty preference and anticipated debt may be important predictors of health policy attitudes among medical students. Early career medical providers with primary care ambitions and those who anticipate less debt may be more likely to support healthcare cost containment.     

Parental attitudes toward pediatric organ donation: a survey.

We conducted a telephone survey of parents in the National Capital Region to assess their intention to donate their child''s organs and to provide physicians with information that could help alleviate their concerns about approaching parents for consent. Of 339 parents who agreed to answer questions after being given details of their child''s "death" 288 (85%) said that they would be willing to donate their child''s organs. The degree of willingness was associated with the certainty of death, altruism and empathy toward children in need of an organ, previous discussion of organ donation with a family member and knowledge of an adolescent or adult child''s attitude toward donation. Factors that inhibited the intention to donate included uncertainty of death, insufficient information from medical professionals and fear of multilation. The child''s age was not significantly associated with intention to donate. Concordance between the results and actual donation rates in Canada and the United States supports the generalizability of the survey findings.     

Healthcare reform and the next generation: United States medical student attitudes toward the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Context

Over one year after passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), legislators, healthcare experts, physicians, and the general public continue to debate the implications of the law and its repeal. The PPACA will have a significant impact on future physicians, yet medical student perspectives on the legislation have not been well documented.

Objective

To evaluate medical students'' understanding of and attitudes toward healthcare reform and the PPACA including issues of quality, access and cost.

Design, Setting, and Participants

An anonymous electronic survey was sent to medical students at 10 medical schools (total of 6982 students) between October–December 2010, with 1232 students responding and a response rate of 18%.

Main Outcome Measures

Medical students'' views and attitudes regarding the PPACA and related topics, measured with Likert scale and open response items.

Results

Of medical students surveyed, 94.8% agreed that the existing United States healthcare system needs to be reformed, 31.4% believed the PPACA will improve healthcare quality, while 20.9% disagreed and almost half (47.7%) were unsure if quality will be improved. Two thirds (67.6%) believed that the PPACA will increase access, 6.5% disagreed and the remaining 25.9% were unsure. With regard to containing healthcare costs, 45.4% of participants indicated that they are unsure if the provisions of the PPACA will do so. Overall, 80.1% of respondents indicated that they support the PPACA, and 78.3% also indicated that they did not feel that reform efforts had gone far enough. A majority of respondents (58.8%) opposed repeal of the PPACA, while 15.0% supported repeal, and 26.1% were undecided.

Conclusion

The overwhelming majority of medical students recognized healthcare reform is needed and expressed support for the PPACA but echoed concerns about whether it will address issues of quality or cost containment.     

Medical Students’ Opinions About the Commercialization of Healthcare: A Cross-Sectional Survey

There are serious concerns about the commercialization of healthcare and adoption of the business approach in medicine. As market dynamics endanger established professional values, healthcare workers face more complicated ethical dilemmas in their daily practice. The aim of this study was to investigate the willingness of medical students to accept the assertions of commercialized healthcare and the factors affecting their level of agreement, factors which could influence their moral stance when market demands conflict with professional values. A cross-sectional study was conducted in three medical schools in Turkey. The study population consisted of first-, third-, and sixth-year students, and 1,781 students participated in total. Students were asked to state if they agreed with the assertions of commercialized healthcare. Of all students, 87.2 per cent agreed with at least one of the assertions, and one-fifth (20.8 per cent) of them agreed with more than half of the assertions. First-year students significantly agreed more with some assertions than third- and sixth-year students. Being female, having mid-level family income, choosing medicine due to idealistic reasons, and being in the third or sixth years of medical study increased the probability of disagreement. Also, studying in a medical school that included integrated lectures on health policies, rights related to health, and health inequities, along with early field visits, increased the probability of disagreement. This study suggests that agreement with the assertions of commercialized healthcare might be prevalent among students at a considerable level. We argue that this level of agreement is not compatible with best practice in professional ethics and indicates the need for an educational intervention in order to have physicians who give priority to patients’ best interests in the face of market demands.     

A survey of hospitals to determine the prevalence and characteristics of healthcare coalitions for emergency preparedness and response

Previous reports have identified the development of healthcare coalitions as the foundation for disaster response across the United States. This survey of acute care hospitals characterizes the current status of participation by US hospitals in healthcare coalitions for emergency preparedness planning and response. The survey results show the nearly universal nature of a coalition approach to disaster response. The results suggest a need for wide stakeholder involvement but also for flexibility in structure and organization. Based on the survey results, the authors make recommendations to guide the further development of healthcare coalitions and to improve local and national response to disasters.     

The organizational social context of mental health services and clinician attitudes toward evidence-based practice: a United States national study

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Evidence-based practices have not been routinely adopted in community mental health organizations despite the support of scientific evidence and in some cases even legislative or regulatory action. We examined the association of clinician attitudes toward evidence-based practice with organizational culture, climate, and other characteristics in a nationally representative sample of mental health organizations in the United States. METHODS: In-person, group-administered surveys were conducted with a sample of 1,112 mental health service providers in a nationwide sample of 100 mental health service institutions in 26 states in the United States. The study examines these associations with a two-level Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) analysis of responses to the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS) at the individual clinician level as a function of the Organizational Social Context (OSC) measure at the organizational level, controlling for other organization and clinician characteristics. RESULTS: We found that more proficient organizational cultures and more engaged and less stressful organizational climates were associated with positive clinician attitudes toward adopting evidence-based practice. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that organizational intervention strategies for improving the organizational social context of mental health services may contribute to the success of evidence-based practice dissemination and implementation efforts by influencing clinician attitudes.     

Male versus female genital alteration: Differences in legal,medical, and socioethical responses

The different legal, social, and medical approaches to ritually based male and female genital circumcision in the United States are highlighted in this article. The religious and historical origins of these practices are briefly examined, as well as the effect of changing policy statements by American medical associations on the number of circumcisions performed. Currently, no state or federal laws single out male circumcision for regulation. The tolerant attitudes toward male circumcision in law, medicine, and societal opinion stand in striking contrast to the attitudes of those disciplines toward even the least invasive form of female genital alteration. US law tacitly condones male circumcision by providing exemptions that are not available for other medical procedures, while criminalizing any similar or even less extensive procedure on females. The increase in immigration, over the past few decades, of people from countries in which female genital alteration is a cultural tradition has brought the issue to the United States. The medical profession's changing approach over time toward male circumcision is primarily responsible for such different legal and societal reactions toward female genital alteration.     

Active-Duty Physicians' Perceptions and Satisfaction with Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Missions: Implications for the Field

Background

The United States Department of Defense participates in more than 500 missions every year, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, as part of medical stability operations. This study assessed perceptions of active-duty physicians regarding these activities and related these findings to the retention and overall satisfaction of healthcare professionals.

Methods and Findings

An Internet-based survey was developed and validated. Of the 667 physicians who responded to the survey, 47% had participated in at least one mission. On a 7-point, Likert-type response scale, physicians reported favorable overall satisfaction with their participation in these missions (mean  = 5.74). Perceived benefit was greatest for the United States (mean  = 5.56) and self (mean  = 5.39) compared to the target population (mean  = 4.82). These perceptions were related to participants'' intentions to extend their military medical service (total model R ²  = .37), with the strongest predictors being perceived benefit to self (β = .21, p<.01), the U.S. (β = .19, p<.01), and satisfaction (β = .18, p<.05). In addition, Air Force physicians reported higher levels of satisfaction (mean  = 6.10) than either Army (mean  = 5.27, Cohen''s d = 0.75, p<.001) or Navy (mean  = 5.60, Cohen''s d  = 0.46, p<.01) physicians.

Conclusions

Military physicians are largely satisfied with humanitarian missions, reporting the greatest benefit of such activities for themselves and the United States. Elucidation of factors that may increase the perceived benefit to the target populations is warranted. Satisfaction and perceived benefits of humanitarian missions were positively correlated with intentions to extend time in service. These findings could inform the larger humanitarian community as well as military medical practices for both recruiting and retaining medical professionals.     

Basis for Physician Recommendations for Adjuvant Radioiodine Therapy in Early-Stage Thyroid Carcinoma: Principal Findings of the Canadian-American Thyroid Cancer Survey

ObjectiveTo explore physician recommendations regarding radioiodine remnant ablation (RRA) as adjuvant treatment in early-stage well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma (WDTC), their rationale for administration of RRA, and their willingness to involve patients’ opinions in decision making about the use of RRA.MethodsWe surveyed a representative sample of specialty physicians in Canada and the United States and asked survey participants whether they would recommend adjuvant RRA after thyroidectomy for a 1.6-cm papillary thyroid carcinoma (Likert scale of agreement responses from 1 to 7; strong agreement ≥ 6). Factor analysis was performed to explore the rationale for recommendations. We asked whether physicians accepted the role of patients’ preferences in decision making about administration of RRA, and backward conditional logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of strong acceptance.ResultsThe effective response rate for the survey was 56.3% (486 of 864), with 62.8% (295 of 470 respondents) strongly recommending RRA. Strong RRA recommendations were founded in opinions that RRA (1) decreases WDTC-related mortality and recurrence and (2) facilitates WDTC follow-up at low risk of adverse effects. Approximately a third of the survey respondents (152 of 474) strongly agreed with incorporation of patients’ preferences in decision making regarding the use of RRA. Physicians without firm convictions about the efficacy of RRA in decreasing disease-related outcomes and those practicing in the United States were most likely to indicate strong support for incorporating patients’ preferences in decision making about RRA.ConclusionThe recommendations of physicians regarding use of adjuvant RRA are founded in beliefs in intervention efficacy and follow-up practices. Physicians in medical practice in the United States and those without strong convictions about RRA efficacy are most likely to incorporate patients’ views in individualizing decisions about RRA therapy. (Endocr Pract. 2008;14:175-184)     

Public attitudes in Edmonton toward assisted reproductive technology.

OBJECTIVE: To determine public attitudes toward the use and possible limitations of assisted reproductive technology (ART). DESIGN: Mail survey based on telephone numbers selected at random by computer. SETTING: Edmonton. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 602 Edmonton residents aged 16 years or more (57% of eligible subjects) reached by telephone agreed to participate. Completed questionnaires were received from 455 subjects (76%). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Attitudes toward egg donation, sperm donation, selective fetal reduction, embryo freezing and experimentation, and surrogacy, as determined through responses to five cases. Comments and demographic data were also solicited. MAIN RESULTS: Overall, 66% and 63% respectively of the respondents would donate an egg or sperm to a sibling; the corresponding rates for donation to a stranger were 41% and 44%. Selective fetal reduction was supported by 47% of the respondents, although only 24% would support fetal reduction to eliminate fetuses of an undesired sex. Most (64%) thought that live embryo freezing should be permitted by law. A total of 74% agreed with surrogacy if done for medical reasons, but 85% opposed its use for reasons of convenience. Overall, 72% of the respondents thought that ART should be regulated. A total of 58% felt that physicians should be primarily responsible for determining the allowable limits of this technology, and 38% felt that the public should be primarily responsible. Only 21% agreed with public funding of ART. Religious affiliation strongly influenced attitudes toward ART. CONCLUSIONS: Public support for ART varies depending on the circumstances of its use. Education is needed to make the general community aware of the various aspects of ART. The results of this survey should help physicians and governing bodies make informed decisions about the future directions of ART in Canada.     

Knowledge and Attitudes of American Physicians and Public About Medical Chronobiology and Chronotherapeutics. Findings of Two 1996 Gallup Surveys

Two Gallup telephone interview surveys were conducted during 1996 of 320 American primary care physicians and 1011 adults to assess their knowledge and attitudes about medical chronobiology and chronotherapeu-tics. Of the doctors, 88% claimed to possess at least some familiarity with the concept of chronobiology and circadian rhythms; however, many were not often able to identify correctly the time of day or night when common medical conditions and events most likely occur or worsen. Furthermore, a significant number of doctors believed that chronotherapies, special dosage forms that proportion medications during the day and night in synchrony to need with reference to 24h patterns in the intensity of symptoms and risk of severe medical events, were already being marketed in the United States for angina pectoris, hypertension, respiratory allergies, and other medical conditions even though this was not the case at the time of the survey. On the other hand, the doctors were relatively unaware of those chronotherapies that actually did exist to treat asthma and peptic ulcer disease. American adults also lacked knowledge of temporal patterns in disease and were seldom able to identify the clock time when asthma and myocardial infarction are of greatest risk or when blood pressure is highest. Although neither the American physicians nor adults possessed knowledge of these facts, both had a strong positive attitude toward the concept of chronotherapeutics. Overall, the findings of these Gallup surveys indicate that a massive educational effort is necessary immediately to ensure new developments in medical chronobiology and chronotherapeutics are correctly comprehended and properly incorporated by physicians into clinical medicine and wisely utilized by patients.     

Intravenous antimicrobial therapy in the community: underused,inadequately resourced,or irrelevant to health care in Britain?

The NHS Executive is keen to promote "hospital at home" services in Britain, as part of its philosophy of keeping more care in the community and also to relieve the increasing demand for hospital beds. One such service is the provision of intravenous antimicrobial therapy in the community. Yet, compared with the United States, where home or outpatient intravenous antimicrobial therapy programmes are well developed, experience in Britain and Europe is limited, reflecting a difference in cultural attitudes and healthcare structures between the two continents. Only a few units in Britain currently run home intravenous antimicrobial therapy programmes, and several issues need to be addressed if more treatment is to be provided outside hospital. These include an assessment of the need for community intravenous antibiotic treatment and which patient groups many benefit. The main motive for community intravenous treatment should be better patient care and not simply a reduction in healthcare costs. At present the pace of change is being set by a few clinical enthusiasts and by commercial organisations, whereas the NHS deserves a more organised strategy for purchasing treatment with intravenous antibiotics in the community.     

Teenage sexual attitudes in China

Abstract

Not much is known about the sexual attitudes of Chinese teenagers. In this article we endeavor to address this void by examining the sexual attitudes of Chinese teenagers with survey data collected in Sichuan Province in 1988. Our analysis has two goals: first, to describe aggregate attitudes toward premarital sexual practices; and second, to identify the principal factors that influence these attitudes. To accomplish the second goal we estimate several regression equations with predictor variables known to influence teen sexual attitudes. Our analysis reveals major differences and similarities between China and the United States and indicates that China's teenagers are somewhat strongly opposed to teen sexual contact, but seem to be more understanding of others who so engage, despite strict laws and public morality forbidding it.     

Identifying Elements of Patient-Centered Care in Underserved Populations: A Qualitative Study of Patient Perspectives

Patient-centered care is an important goal in the delivery of healthcare. However, many patients do not engage in preventive medical care. In this pilot study, we conducted twenty in depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews at the University of Illinois at Chicago Health Sciences campus in a four month time frame. Many patients were underserved and underinsured, and we wanted to understand their experiences in the healthcare system. Using content analysis, several themes emerged from the interview data. Participants discussed the need for empathy and rapport with their providers. They identified provider behaviors that fostered a positive clinical relationship, including step-by step explanations of procedures, attention to body language and clinic atmosphere, and appropriate time management. Participants identified cost as the most common barrier to engaging in preventive care and discussed children and social support as motivating factors. A long-term relationship with a provider was an important motivator for preventive care, suggesting that the therapeutic alliance was essential to many patients. Conversely, many participants discussed a sense of dehumanization in the healthcare system, reporting that their life circumstances were overlooked, or that they were judged based on insurance status or ethnicity. We discuss implications for provider training and healthcare delivery, including the importance of patient-centered medical homes.     

And How Are We Supposed to Pay for Health Care? Views of the Poor and the Near Poor on Welfare Reform

The welfare reform debate focuses on the characteristics of who gets government benefits and who pays for them. People perceive the welfare reform debate as the white middle class denying benefits to poor people of color. But larger questions regarding the U.S. lack of comprehensive social policy for health care, education, and child care lurk behind these concerns. Drawing on research with public assistance recipients and working- and middle-class people, in this paper I explore the ways that people interact with and perceive government social programs. I argue that both attitudes and proposed solutions toward welfare reflect different access to government programs and resources such as jobs, savings, and social supports among people who have and have not accessed welfare. Since economic disparity in the United States correlates highly with race, the debate over welfare reform also involves racial attitudes. Changing both the welfare debate and poverty in the United States must start by providing universal benefits, [ public policy, poverty, welfare reform, race, United States ]     

Medical Students’ Attitudes toward Abortion Education: Malaysian Perspective

Background

Abortion is a serious public health issue, and it poses high risks to the health and life of women. Yet safe abortion services are not readily available because few doctors are trained to provide such services. Many doctors are unaware of laws pertaining to abortion. This article reports survey findings on Malaysian medical students’ attitudes toward abortion education and presents a case for including abortion education in medical schools.

Methods and Results

A survey on knowledge of and attitudes toward abortion among medical students was conducted in two public universities and a private university in Malaysia in 2011. A total of 1,060 students returned the completed questionnaires. The survey covered about 90% of medical students in Years 1, 3, and 5 in the three universities. About 90% of the students wanted more training on the general knowledge and legal aspects of abortion, and pre-and post-abortion counseling. Overall, 75.9% and 81.0% of the students were in favor of including in medical education the training on surgical abortion techniques and medical abortion, respectively. Only 2.4% and 1.7% were opposed to the inclusion of training of these two methods in the curriculum. The remaining respondents were neutral in their stand. Desire for more abortion education was associated with students’ pro-choice index, their intention to provide abortion services in future practice, and year of study. However, students’ attitudes toward abortion were not significantly associated with gender, type of university, or ethnicity.

Conclusions

Most students wanted more training on abortion. Some students also expressed their intention to provide abortion counseling and services in their future practice. Their desire for more training on abortion should be taken into account in the new curriculum. Abortion education is an important step towards making available safe abortion services to enable women to exercise their reproductive rights.     

The transition of adult patients with childhood-onset chronic diseases from pediatric to adult healthcare systems: a survey of the perceptions of Japanese pediatricians and child health nurses

Background

Advances in medical science have enabled many children with chronic diseases to survive to adulthood. The transition of adult patients with childhood-onset chronic diseases from pediatric to adult healthcare systems has received attention in Europe and the United States. We conducted a questionnaire survey among 41 pediatricians at pediatric hospitals and 24 nurses specializing in adolescent care to compare the perception of transition of care from pediatric to adult healthcare services for such patients.

Findings

Three-fourths of the pediatricians and all of the nurses reported that transition programs were necessary. A higher proportion of the nurses realized the necessity of transition and had already developed such programs. Both pediatricians and nurses reported that a network covering the transition from pediatric to adult healthcare services has not been established to date.

Conclusions

It has been suggested that spreading the importance of a transition program among pediatricians and developing a pediatric-adult healthcare network would contribute to the biopsychosocial well-being of adult patients with childhood-onset chronic disease.     

Effect of Publicly Reporting Performance Data of Medicine Use on Injection Use: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Background

Inappropriate use of prescribing pharmaceuticals, particularly injections, not only affects the quality of medical care, but also leads to an increase in medical expenses. Publicly reporting performance data of medical care is becoming a common health policy tool adopted to supervise medical quality. To our knowledge, few studies about public reporting applied to medicine use have been reported. This study intended to introduce public reporting in the field of medicine use, and evaluate the effect of publicly reporting performance data of medicine use on the use of injections.

Methods

The research sites were 20 primary healthcare institutions in Q City, Hubei. By matching, the institutions were divided into the intervention group and control group. A quasi-experimental design was applied in this study. In the intervention group, the performance data of medicine use were publicly reported. The injection prescribing rates of the two groups before and after intervention were measured and compared. Difference-in-difference method and logistic regression were employed to estimate the effect of public reporting on injection use.

Results

Public reporting led to a reduction of approximately 4% in the injection prescribing rate four months after intervention (OR = 0.96; 95%CI: 0.94, 0.97). The intervention effect was inconsistent in each month after intervention, and it was most positive in the second month after intervention (OR = 0.90; 95%CI: 0.89, 0.92).

Conclusions

In general, publicly reporting performance data of medicine use may have positive effects on injection use to some extent. Further research is needed to investigate the mechanism by which public reporting influences injection use. Comprehensive measures are also necessary to promote the rational use of injections.     

Texas Latino College Student Attitudes Toward Natural Resources and the Environment

Abstract: Latinos in the United States are an increasing segment of the population and are becoming important stakeholders in the management of natural resources. Although Latinos have been included in attitudinal research on environmental concerns, few studies have focused exclusively on Latino attitudes toward natural resources and the environment. We surveyed Texas college and university students of Mexican descent (n = 635) to determine their environmental concerns. Using the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP), we determined an environmental concern score for each respondent and compared this index to several demographic variables. We found that gender, a political candidate's environmental position, mother's education, combined parental income, and, to a lesser degree, the number of grandparents born in the United States and religiosity (church attendance), were important model variables. We hypothesized that acculturation would be an important factor in predicting NEP scores; however, acculturation level was not an important predictor in our study, which we attribute to both the nature of our sample (i.e., highly acculturated college students) and small sample sizes of less-acculturated college students. We recommend that future research consider determining the importance of acculturation in Latino attitudes toward natural resources and the environment.