Evaluation of the integration of social accountability values into medical education using a problem-based learning curriculum

Abstract

Background Medical schools have the obligation to direct their education toward addressing the priority health concerns of the societies that they serve. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the integration of the concepts and values of social accountability into the case scenarios that are used in a problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum at a medical school in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Methods A validated “social accountability inventory for PBL” was used for examining 70 case scenarios in a problem-based learning (PBL) medical curriculum. Results The findings of the study showed that patient gender and age were included in all the 70 case scenarios. Vast majority of the case scenarios had successfully integrated the social accountably values in addressing the following: the major health problems or social health concerns of the UAE (73%), the social determinants of health (70%), the contextual integration of medical professionalism (87%), the evolving roles of doctors in the health system (79%), the healthcare referral system based on the case complexity (73%), the involvement of different stakeholders in healthcare (87%), psychosocial issues rather than only the disease-oriented issues (80%) and the values of health promotion/prevention (59%) cases. On the other hand, the case scenarios were deficient in integrating other social accountability values that related to the importance of treatment cost-effectiveness (91%), consideration of the underserved, disadvantaged or vulnerable populations in the society (89%), patient’s ethnicity (77%), multidisciplinary approach to patient management (67%), the socioeconomic statuses of patients (53%), the issues regarding the management of the health system (39%) respectively. There was variability in integrating the social accountability values in case scenarios across different units which are based on organ system. Conclusion Medical educators and healthcare leaders can use this valuable data to calibrate the curriculum content, especially when using a problem-based learning curriculum to integrate the values of social accountability such as relevance, quality, equity and cost-effectiveness to train the future generation of healthcare providers to be ready to address the ever-changing and diverse needs of the societies.

The implementation of social accountability in medical schools in Eastern Mediterranean region: A scoping review

“…Another study from the United Arab Emirates used an inventory that measures the integration of SA values in problem-based learning scenarios. 20 The study concluded that most of the problem-based learning case scenarios had successfully integrated social accountability values in addressing certain areas.…”

“…An initial search in January 2021 yielded 162 articles, and five further articles were identified from other sources. Additional searches were conducted in January 2022 and May 2022, and two additional articles 20 , 21 were identified during the follow-up search. Sixty-five titles and abstracts were excluded after being screened due to duplication.…”

“… 25 Evaluation of the integration of social accountability values into medical education using a problem-based learning curriculum Dash, Nihar Ranjan et al. 20 2022 Evaluation of the integration of social accountability values Quantitative/cross sectional United Arab Emirates The vast majority of the case scenarios had successfully integrated social accountability values in certain areas. 26 Social Accountability in Medical Education: Students' Perspective Masud, Nazish, et al.…”

“…The twenty-six studies included in the review were from seven countries (Iran, Sudan, KSA, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Morocco, and Pakistan) out of the 22 countries constituting the WHO's EM region. Seventy-three percent of the articles were published in two countries; 13 (50.00%) studies were from Iran, 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 six (23.08%) were from Sudan, 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 40 two were from KSA, 21 , 41 two were from the United Arab Emirates, 20 , 42 and the other three countries contributed one article each 43 , 44 , 45 ( Table 2 ). The thirteen studies from Iran came from five different medical schools, while the six studies from Sudan came from one medical school: the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Gezira (FMUOG).…”

“… Evaluation of social accountability (measurement and indicators) Regarding the development of indicators for evaluating social accountability in medical schools, seven articles focused on developing indicators and determinants of SA based on medical schools' and education experts’ perspectives only. 20 , 24 , 25 , 27 , 28 , 33 , 36 Five of these studies were from Iran, 24 , 25 , 27 , 28 , 33 one each from Sudan 36 and the UAE. 20 …”