METHODS: We used a grounded theory approach to analyze three focus groups conducted between May and August 2010 in Kuala Lumpur. We used random sampling to recruit the informants (n=21), all of whom had earlier participated in the 4 week self-management program held two years previously.
FINDINGS: The women reported positive experience and growth with the self management program. Self-efficacy appears as an important underlying theme for successful experiences. The lack of proactive plans to provide bereavement support to surviving women was a key negative experience.
CONCLUSION: The intervention successfully brought women together to work in close partnership with health professionals on ways to self manage the medical, emotional and role task as they live indefinitely with breast cancer, a new chronic illness. The beneficial effect from the 4 week intervention was expressed by women even at 2 years after the program. Having successfully developed a tightly knitted group, a major oversight was the lack of professional support on bereavement for grieving members when close friends passed away.
METHODS: This was a qualitative study using focus group discussions in three villages in rural Bangladesh. The 45 participants were mothers and fathers with children under five, the parents of children who had drowned and community leaders.
RESULTS: The majority of the participants (71%) were male. The focus groups revealed that most drowning's occurred between 11am and 2pm and that risk factors included the following: children not being able to swim, ditches that were not filled in, lack of medical facilities, parents who were not aware of childhood drowning and lack of information through the media about how to prevent of childhood drowning. Suggestions included using a mobile-based short messaging service or voice calls to parents, especially mothers, could increase awareness and reduce the risk of childhood drowning.
CONCLUSION: A safety education programme could be effective in increasing knowledge and changing attitudes, which could prevent drowning among children in Bangladesh.
METHODS: A sequential mixed method research design was used in this study. A validated questionnaire was distributed to undergraduate students of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy programmes to collect their general views on LA. Focus group interviews with a total of 18 students were conducted to explore their perceptions in depth, followed by thematic analysis of the transcribed data.
RESULTS: Generally, the students were aware of their demographic data, utilisation of learning management system and academic performance data being collected by the university. They were agreeable for collection of those data which had direct association with their learning to be used for LA. However, they expressed concerns about the privacy, confidentiality, and security of the collected data. Three themes emerged from the interviews, i.e., self-regulated learning, evidence-based decision making and data management. The students perceived that LA could help them to monitor achievement of learning outcomes and provide support for individualised learning paths through recommendations of learning resources and learning motivation. They also opined that LA could help educators and institutions by providing feedback on teaching and learning methods, resource allocation and interventions to create conducive learning environment.
CONCLUSIONS: LA is a useful tool to support self-regulated learning, however, precautions should be exercised during implementation to ensure data privacy and security.
Materials and Methods: A qualitative research method was used to generate findings in this study. The data collection methods included focus group discussions and interviews. Triangulation methods were used to ensure the validity and reliability of the qualitative data analyzed in this study. The thematic analysis of the data collected in this study helped to garner insights into the perception of participants and experts about the use of GaMed@™ for the delivery of ECG lessons.
Results: A total number of 32 medical students and four experts in the fields of user experience, communication, social psychology, and game design participated in this study. The findings showed that in spite of the negative reports about the user experience and application of GaMed@™, the participants and experts affirmed its positive impact on the increased motivation and engagement of users.
Conclusions: The impact of this concept can be maximized by tailoring the game design to foster-positive learning attributes, behaviors, and outcomes in students. However, further research studies must be conducted to investigate the impact of gamification designs on specific learning outcomes in students.
METHODS: This study employed a phenomenological design. Five focus groups were conducted with medical students who had participated in several Kahoot! sessions.
RESULTS: Thirty-six categories and nine sub-themes emerged from the focus group discussions. They were grouped into three themes: attractive learning tool, learning guidance and source of motivation.
CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that Kahoot! sessions motivate students to study, to determine the subject matter that needs to be studied and to be aware of what they have learned. Thus, the platform is a promising tool for formative assessment in medical education.
Methods: A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted on a group of Universiti Sains Malaysia medical students who had finished the Community and Family Case Study (CFCS) program. Data were gathered through focused group discussions and student reflective journals. Participants were sampled using the maximal variation technique of purposive sampling. Three steps of thematic analysis using the Atlasti software were employed to identify categories, subthemes, and themes.
Results: Personal, role, social, and research identities were generated that contribute to the PID of medical students through the CFCS program. The results indicate that the CFCS program nurtured personal identity through the development of professional skills, soft skills, and personal values. Pertaining to role identity, this is related to patient care in terms of primary care and interprofessional awareness. Pertaining to social identity, the obvious feature was community awareness related to culture, society, and politics. A positive outcome of the CFCS program was found to be its fostering of research skills, which is related to the use of epidemiology and research methods.
Conclusion: The findings indicate that the CFCS program promotes PID among medical students. The current data highlight and provide insights into the importance of integrating CBE into medical curricula to prepare future doctors for their entry into the profession.
Methods: A total of 568 adolescents were participated in quantitative surveys, and of these participating adolescents, 6 were further invited to join focus group interviews.
Findings: Quantitative findings supported the mediating role of communication disturbance in the relationships between phone obsession and familial connectedness, school connectedness, and self-connectedness, but not for friendship connectedness. Qualitative findings further elucidated the detrimental effect of phone obsession on their sense of belonging from the perspectives of adolescents.
Conclusion: This study reaffirms that phubbing behaviour is predictive of social disconnectedness. Therefore, preventive and treatment interventions should be developed to avoid and control a potential risk of social disconnectedness epidemics attribute to phubbing.
METHODS: Qualitative study using six focus groups and 14 semi-structured interviews with doctors responsible for dengue management at a large tertiary hospital in Malaysia.
RESULTS: Dengue was recognised as difficult to diagnose and manage. Wide awareness and use of both WHO and Ministry of Health guidelines was reported, but several limitations noted in their coverage of particular patient groups. However, the phrase 'guidelines' also referred to local algorithms for fluid management, which were less clinically evidence-based. Where Medical Officers were well trained in the appropriate use of evidence-based guidelines, barriers to use included: the potential for 'following the algorithm' to undermine junior clinicians' claims to clinical expertise; inability to recognise the pattern of clinical progress; and lack of clinical experience. Other reported barriers to improved case management were resource constraints, poor referral practices, and insufficient awareness of the need for timely help seeking.
CONCLUSIONS: Awareness of clinical practice guidelines is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for optimal dengue management. In high prevalence settings, all clinical staff would benefit from regular dengue management training which should include diagnosis, practice in monitoring disease progression and the use of clinical practice guidelines in a range of clinical contexts.