Objective: This study aimed to explore the fundamental needs and barriers of medication-taking self-efficacy in poststroke patients in Malaysia.
Methods: We performed in-depth individual interviews with poststroke patients (N=10) from the Outpatient Neurology Clinic, Hospital Kuala Lumpur. All interviews were transcribed verbatim, and an inductive thematic analysis was performed on the data collected from the interviews.
Results: Two key themes were identified: (1) self-efficacy in taking the effort to understand stroke and its preventative treatment for recurrent stroke and (2) self-efficacy in taking prescribed medication to prevent stroke. Patients needed to be proactive in seeking reliable information about stroke and the perceived benefits of preventative treatment for stroke. The discussion was focused on eliciting the needs and barriers related to medication-taking self-efficacy. Patients needed to develop independence and self-reliance to overcome barriers such as dependency and low motivation. External factors such as limited information resources, low perceived severity, poor social environment, and poor communication add to the challenges of poststroke patients to improve their self-efficacy of managing their medications.
Conclusions: The study identified potential key findings related to the needs of patients in a localized setting, which are also related to several health behavioral concepts and constructs, indicating the importance of overcoming barriers to improve the quality of life in poststroke patients. We anticipate that the results will be taken into consideration for future personalized patient education interventions.
Method: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Chattagram Maa-O-Shishu Hospital Medical College, Chittagong, Bangladesh during the study period of 2017-2018. The DREEM questionnaire was distributed to the paraclinical and clinical students in their regular classes. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 19.
Results: A total of 170 students responded to the questionnaire, of which 27.6% were male, and 72.4% were female. The mean total Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure score of the present study was 130.46. Paraclinical students scored statistically significantly higher than clinical students (p=0.040). Students' social self-perceptions were significantly higher for male than for female students (p<0.05). Most of the students opined that a positive learning experience (80.6%), appropriate teaching method (81.2%), and academic self-perceptions were positive (77.1%), and positive learning atmosphere (65.9%) as well as social surroundings were in acceptable range (70.6%) in Chattagram Maa-O-Shishu Hospital Medical College.
Conclusion: The findings and evidences of the present study will hopefully provide the basis to take effective measures to improve teaching and learning environment of this medical school.