Poor Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) Among Medical Students in India: A Call for MBBS Curriculum Change

Abstract

Context and AimsSleep disorders are one of the most common disorders but are not given enough importance in medical teaching. This study was done to find the knowledge of medical students about the most common sleep disorders. Design Cross-sectional study. Methods and Materials A total of 232 final-year medical students from four medical colleges filled up OSAKA and OSAKAkids questionnaire. Statistical Analysis Used Demographic variables were summarized by descriptive statistic measures like counts and percentages. Continuous variables like knowledge scores were summarized as mean and standard deviation. Knowledge scores and perceived importance were compared using t test; p value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results Knowledge score of students for OSAKA adults and OSAKA-kids questionnaire was 37.93 ± 16.31 and 42.1 ± 20.27%. 91.47, and 86.21% of students rated OSA in adults and kids, respectively, as important to extremely important clinical disorder. Conclusions Although majority of medical students think OSA is significant medical disorder, their knowledge regarding OSA is very poor. Dedicated sleep medicine training covering main sleep disorders should be done in all medical colleges.

Need and learnings from having psychiatry as major subject during medical graduate examination

“…Finally, students are evaluated on five spotters from the undergraduate (UG) curriculum of psychiatry to have a well-rounded assessment. They are expected to analyze the given clinical information in association with one of the following – (i) EEG; (ii) computed tomography (CT), or MRI scan of the brain, which is part of UG curriculum internationally;[ 29 ] (iii) functional neuroimaging – single-photon emission CT of the brain – specially to identify areas of hypometabolism in common conditions such as dementia and depression;[ 30 ] (iv) findings on polysomnography (hyponograms, epochs showing respiratory apneas) as sleep disorders are common and have huge health and economic impact;[ 31 ] (v) photographs of stigmata (loss of hair in trichotillomania, ash leaf spots, and Shagreen patches of tuberous sclerosis); (vi) videos of clinical findings (tics or disorientation); (vii) instruments used in neuromodulation, sleep disorders, and substance use disorders; (viii) drugs used in psychiatry practice; and (ix) laboratory reports. The multidimensional assessment helped students to balance weak domain against strengths.…”

Effect of otolaryngology residency program on confidence of obstructive sleep apnea managements

“…Total knowledge score was 37.9% and 42.1% for OSAKA and OSAKA-KIDS, respectively. They found that there was not enough knowledge in spite of enough attitude and thinking about the importance of the disorder19 . Jokubauskas et al (2018) in a nation-wide study in Lithuania, studied knowledge and attitude of 353 dentists using OSAKA.…”

Sleep, Oh Sleep, Where Art Thou?

“…This issue of the journal contains an article that discussed the dismal state of education regarding sleep disorders in medical curriculum [1]. Authors report that despite having some information regarding the clinical presentation of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), students were not able to deduce its clinical importance [1].…”

“…Authors report that despite having some information regarding the clinical presentation of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), students were not able to deduce its clinical importance [1]. This information is important in light of the evidence that shows that obesity is a global epidemic, increasing especially among minority population in the USA and in developing countries [2].…”

“…These programs are usually designed to benefit even the last and marginalized person of the society and thus, they have widespread impact. The gap in the diagnosis and management of sleep disorders may be addressed by including sleep medicine in the undergraduate curriculum where at least three most important sleep disorders may be addressed [1]. Postgraduate training especially in certain specialties such as the internal medicine, pulmonology, psychiatry, and neurology must devote sufficient time to impart knowledge regarding sleep disorders.…”