Perception of medical students at public universities in Uganda on their education environment: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: The healthcare workforce is one of the six core components of a well-functioning and sufficient health system. The WHO highlights that improving education and training of the health workforce is critical to improving health systems. Medical education is a pillar of the healthcare workforce. The educational environment - the physical circumstances or conditions under which learning takes place - is an important factor determining medical education’s effectiveness. Its academic and clinical effects significantly determine medical students’ attitudes, knowledge, skills, progression, and behaviors. To ensure strong health systems, there is a need for improvement in medical education. Improvement must be contextual and informed by locally relevant data. This study, which assessed Ugandan medical students’ perception of their learning environment, provides crucial context-specific data highly relevant to the current state of medical education in Uganda. Methods: This quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students across five medical schools in Uganda between December 2021 and February 2022. Participants completed an online questionnaire with a demographics section and the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) tool. The data was analyzed using R in R Studio version 2021.09.0+351. The average score for each DREEM sub-scale and the total DREEM score were calculated, and their relationship with demographic characteristics was examined. Results: The average total DREEM score of the 335 participants was 112.27/200 (56.12%). We found that 69% (231/335) of the students had a positive perception. The sub-scale mean scores were as follows: Perception of Atmosphere – 25.14/48, Social Self-perception −14.94/28, Perception of Teachers −24.86/44, Perception of Learning −28.8/48, and Academic Self-perceptions – 19.04/32. “There is a good support system for students who get stressed” was the item with the lowest mean score (1.41/5). Conclusions: The study’s findings indicate that medical students’ perceptions of their learning environment are just above average. This suggests a need for improvement, particularly in the atmosphere and social support, to ensure the training of a robust health workforce. The results of this study should motivate stakeholders to initiate changes that will enhance the quality of medical education in Uganda.