Knowledge of misconduct amid North-African post-graduate dental students: A cross sectional study

Abstract

Background Misconduct in the academic community remains poorly understood among post-graduate dental students (PGDSs) in North Africa. Data on the knowledge of misconduct (KoM) level in this population is lacking. This study assessed KoM of Tunisian PGDSs’. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Faculty of Dental Medicine of Monastir, involving 147 PGDSs registered in 2022. Students were recruited via email invitations and convenience sampling at a medical congress. A French survey with 11 questions on KoM, offering three-choice answers (yes/no/maybe) was administered. Each correct answer received one point, and a total score below six indicated a low-level of KoM. Results The mean±SD KoM score of the 106 students who accepted to participate in the study was 4.4±1.8, indicating a low-level of KoM. The majority of PGDSs (85.85%) demonstrated a low-level of KoM. A comparison between subjective and objective assessments of KoM levels revealed that a significant percentage of PGDSs underestimated their knowledge (62.26% vs. 85.85%, respectively). The two groups of PGDSs with low (n=91) and acceptable or excellent (n=15) KoM levels showed comparable characteristics in terms of age, sex, discipline, post-graduate-level, experience-level, graduation-status, and survey-response modality. Conclusion This study identified a low-level of KoM among North-African PGDSs. This emphasizes the need for further efforts to enhance awareness and promote better KoM in this population.