UNASSIGNED: Pedagogically sound curricula are needed for occupational therapy (OT) students to adopt evidence-based practice (EBP) principles and internalise EBP within their professional identities. Exploring students\' perceptions of this knowledge area can contribute to effective curriculum design.
UNASSIGNED: To explore the evolution of pre-registration OT student perceptions of research and EBP over the course of their engagement with undergraduate teaching and learning.
UNASSIGNED: The Q-sort approach synthesises different viewpoints regarding a sample of statements, using by-person factor analysis (respondents = variables; statements = sample). Final year pre-registration OT students completed the same Q-sort at three timepoints (pre-dissertation [n = 18]; post-dissertation submission [n = 12]; post-student research conference [n = 6]). Q-sort responses were intercorrelated and factor-analysed; extraction of factors with an eigenvalue of ¬>0.9 and varimax rotation identified majority viewpoints.
UNASSIGNED: Significant factors were revealed at each timepoint: 1a: \'Evidence-inseparable from OT practice\', 1b: \'Research for research\'s sake-inseparable from the occupational therapy identity\', 2: \'Who am I to question the gurus?\', 3: \'I can do it with confidence…but so what?\'
UNASSIGNED: Opportunities for completing \'authentic\' student research projects, with \'ownership\' of results, may enhance research and EBP confidence and professional identity.
UNASSIGNED: Findings expand current knowledge regarding effective use of pre-registration educational opportunities to support future research and EBP.

BACKGROUND: The quality of the learning environment significantly impacts student engagement and professional identity formation in health professions education. Despite global recognition of its importance, research on student perceptions of learning environments across different health education programs is scarce. This study aimed to explore how health professional students perceive their learning environment and its influence on their professional identity development.
METHODS: An explanatory mixed-methods approach was employed. In the quantitative phase, the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure [Minimum-Maximum possible scores = 0-200] and Macleod Clark Professional Identity Scale [Minimum-Maximum possible scores = 1-45] were administered to Qatar University-Health students (N = 908), with a minimum required sample size of 271 students. Data were analyzed using SPSS, including descriptive statistics and inferential analysis. In the qualitative phase, seven focus groups (FGs) were conducted online via Microsoft Teams. FGs were guided by a topic guide developed from the quantitative results and the framework proposed by Gruppen et al. (Acad Med 94:969-74, 2019), transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed using NVIVO®.
RESULTS: The questionnaire response rate was 57.8% (525 responses out of 908), with a usability rate of 74.3% (390 responses out of 525) after excluding students who only completed the demographic section. The study indicated a \"more positive than negative\" perception of the learning environment (Median [IQR] = 132 [116-174], Minimum-Maximum obtained scores = 43-185), and a \"good\" perception of their professional identity (Median [IQR] = 24 [22-27], Minimum-Maximum obtained scores = 3-36). Qualitative data confirmed that the learning environment was supportive in developing competence, interpersonal skills, and professional identity, though opinions on emotional support adequacy were mixed. Key attributes of an ideal learning environment included mentorship programs, a reward system, and measures to address fatigue and boredom.
CONCLUSIONS: The learning environment at QU-Health was effective in developing competence and interpersonal skills. Students\' perceptions of their learning environment positively correlated with their professional identity. Ideal environments should include mentorship programs, a reward system, and strategies to address fatigue and boredom, emphasizing the need for ongoing improvements in learning environments to enhance student satisfaction, professional identity development, and high-quality patient care.

BACKGROUND: To date, there are no sufficient studies aimed to determine a correlation between personal, academic, and psychological variables with academic achievement, measured with the grade point average (GPA) and intelligence in university students according to each sex.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the correlation between studying strategies, personal and psychological factors with GPA and intelligence in a sample of health sciences university students.
METHODS: Health Sciences university students, were invited to participate, those who accepted were cited in a computer room where they signed an informed consent and filled an electronic questionnaire with sociodemographic, behavioral, psychological variables and studying strategies (from the MLSQ instrument) afterwards they performed a verbal and non-verbal intelligence test (Shipley-2).
RESULTS: A total of 439 students were included, from which 297 (67.7%) were women. The mean of age was 20.34 ± 2.61 years old. We found that no differences in GPA where observed between sexes. We detected a higher correlation between combined intelligence and GPA in women than in men. In addition, most studying strategies showed a higher correlation with GPA than intelligence scores in men´s sample. All these findings coincide with the fact that preparatory GPA was the most correlated variable with university GPA in both sexes. Finally, women showed higher levels of the sum of diseases, somatization, anxiety, depression and academic stress than men, and all these variables showed low significant correlations with the combined intelligence score only in women´s sample.
CONCLUSIONS: Verbal and non-verbal intelligence scores show a lower association to GPA in men than in women, while studying strategies showed a higher association with GPA in men than in women.

BACKGROUND: Student-led clinics can provide low-cost speciality care and practical interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities. In Australia, there are currently limited speciality services available that provide neurodevelopmental assessments that consider fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) as one possible outcome. The aim of the current study was to understand student experiences in a novel interprofessional student-led clinic for children and adolescents with suspected or confirmed prenatal alcohol exposure.
METHODS: Seventeen allied health university students (11 occupational therapy; 6 psychology) participated in individual semi-structured interviews following completion of a 10-week clinic placement. Reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken using NVivo12.
RESULTS: Four main themes were generated: (1) Interprofessional practice a key for students\' development as future healthcare professionals; (2) Meaningful relationships and students\' belief they made a difference; (3) Novel challenges tested students\' capabilities on placement; and (4) Supervisor attitude and approach to learning supported student development.
CONCLUSIONS: The current study demonstrated that the interprofessional student-led neurodevelopmental clinic provided a valuable IPE opportunity for students.

BACKGROUND: ChatGPT was not intended for use in health care, but it has potential benefits that depend on end-user understanding and acceptability, which is where health care students become crucial. There is still a limited amount of research in this area.
OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of our study was to assess the frequency of ChatGPT use, the perceived level of knowledge, the perceived risks associated with its use, and the ethical issues, as well as attitudes toward the use of ChatGPT in the context of education in the field of health. In addition, we aimed to examine whether there were differences across groups based on demographic variables. The second part of the study aimed to assess the association between the frequency of use, the level of perceived knowledge, the level of risk perception, and the level of perception of ethics as predictive factors for participants\' attitudes toward the use of ChatGPT.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from May to June 2023 encompassing students of medicine, nursing, dentistry, nutrition, and laboratory science across the Americas. The study used descriptive analysis, chi-square tests, and ANOVA to assess statistical significance across different categories. The study used several ordinal logistic regression models to analyze the impact of predictive factors (frequency of use, perception of knowledge, perception of risk, and ethics perception scores) on attitude as the dependent variable. The models were adjusted for gender, institution type, major, and country. Stata was used to conduct all the analyses.
RESULTS: Of 2661 health care students, 42.99% (n=1144) were unaware of ChatGPT. The median score of knowledge was \"minimal\" (median 2.00, IQR 1.00-3.00). Most respondents (median 2.61, IQR 2.11-3.11) regarded ChatGPT as neither ethical nor unethical. Most participants (median 3.89, IQR 3.44-4.34) \"somewhat agreed\" that ChatGPT (1) benefits health care settings, (2) provides trustworthy data, (3) is a helpful tool for clinical and educational medical information access, and (4) makes the work easier. In total, 70% (7/10) of people used it for homework. As the perceived knowledge of ChatGPT increased, there was a stronger tendency with regard to having a favorable attitude toward ChatGPT. Higher ethical consideration perception ratings increased the likelihood of considering ChatGPT as a source of trustworthy health care information (odds ratio [OR] 1.620, 95% CI 1.498-1.752), beneficial in medical issues (OR 1.495, 95% CI 1.452-1.539), and useful for medical literature (OR 1.494, 95% CI 1.426-1.564; P<.001 for all results).
CONCLUSIONS: Over 40% of American health care students (1144/2661, 42.99%) were unaware of ChatGPT despite its extensive use in the health field. Our data revealed the positive attitudes toward ChatGPT and the desire to learn more about it. Medical educators must explore how chatbots may be included in undergraduate health care education programs.

BACKGROUND: Interprofessional education (IPE) has the potential to shape students\' collaboration perception and interprofessional identity but remains understudied. This study aims to understand the effects of the IPE program as a contextual trigger to promote collaboration perception change and interprofessional identity formation among healthcare professional students.
METHODS: Using concurrent triangulation mixed-methods, we examined the relationship between collaboration perception and interprofessional identity change among health profession students (N = 263), and explored their perspectives on how their IPE experiences influenced their perception and identity. Participants completed the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale and Extended Professional Identity Scale and responded to open-ended questions before and after the IPE intervention. Pearson\'s correlation, t-tests, regression (quantitative), and thematic analysis (qualitative) were conducted.
RESULTS: Teams with initially lower collaboration perception (M = 3.59) and lower interprofessional identity (M = 3.59) showed a significant increase in collaboration perception (M = 3.76, t = 2.63; p = .02) and interprofessional identity (M = 3.97, t = 4.86; p < .001) after participating in IPE. The positive relationship between collaboration perception and interprofessional identity strengthened after participating in IPE, as evident from the correlation (Time 1: r = .69; p < .001; Time 2: r = .79; p < .001). Furthermore, collaboration perception in Time 1 significantly predicted the variance in interprofessional identity at Time 2 (β = 0.347, p < .001). Qualitative findings indicated that 85.2% of students expressed that IPE played a role in promoting their interprofessional identity and collaboration attitudes.
CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating the IPE program into the curriculum can effectively enhance students\' collaboration perception and interprofessional identity, ultimately preparing them for collaborative practice in the healthcare system. By engaging students in interprofessional teamwork, communication, and joint decision-making processes, the IPE program provides a valuable context for students to develop a sense of belonging and commitment to interprofessional collaboration.

BACKGROUND: Applicant perceptions of selection impact motivation and performance during selection, and student diversity. However, in-depth insight into which values underly these perceptions is lacking, creating challenges for aligning selection procedures with applicant perceptions. This qualitative interview study aimed to identify values applicants believe should underlie selection, and how, according to applicants, these values should be used to make specific improvements to selection procedures in undergraduate health professions education (HPE).
METHODS: Thirty-one applicants to five undergraduate HPE programs in the Netherlands participated in semi-structured interviews using Appreciative Inquiry, an approach that focuses on what goes well to create vision for improvement, to guide the interviews. Transcriptions were analyzed using thematic analysis, adopting a constructivist approach.
RESULTS: Applicants\' values related to the aims of selection, the content of selection, and the treatment of applicants. Applicants believed that selection procedures should aim to identify students who best fit the training and profession, and generate diverse student populations to fulfill societal needs. According to applicants, the content of selection should be relevant for the curriculum and profession, assess a comprehensive set of attributes, be of high quality, allow applicants to show who they are, and be adapted to applicants\' current developmental state. Regarding treatment, applicants believed that selection should be a two-way process that fosters reflection on study choice, be transparent about what applicants can expect, safeguard applicants\' well-being, treat all applicants equally, and employ an equitable approach by taking personal circumstances into account. Applicants mentioned specific improvements regarding each value.
CONCLUSIONS: Applicants\' values offer novel insights into what they consider important preconditions for the design of selection procedures. Their suggested improvements can support selection committees in better meeting applicants\' needs.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the level of knowledge of symptoms and risks of child abuse among undergraduate health science students according to their socio-demographic characteristics.
METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study involving 485 student volunteers. The data collection tools used in the study were the Demographic Data Collection Form and the Scale for Diagnosing Symptoms and Risks of Child Abuse and Neglect.
RESULTS: It was found that health students\' knowledge of the symptoms and risks of child abuse was moderate. It was also found that knowledge of diagnosing the symptoms and risks of child abuse was higher among women than among men, higher among those who had received education on child abuse, and increased with grade level.
CONCLUSIONS: Child abuse is an important public health issue, and there is a need to raise awareness of this issue among health students.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare professionals\' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding skin cancer are important for reducing the future impact of the disease.
OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated university students\' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about skin cancer and examined the variables influencing their attitudes and beliefs about the disease.
METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Faculty of Health Sciences at Manisa Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey.
METHODS: A total of 960 students participated in this study. Data were collected using the Student Introduction Form, Fitzpatrick Skin Type Scale, Skin Cancer and Sun Knowledge Scale (SCSKS), and Health Belief Model Scale for Skin Cancer (HBMSSC).
RESULTS: The mean SCSKS score of the participants was 14.91 ± 4.23. The mean HBSSC scores of the participants were 23.58 ± 7.79 for perceived susceptibility, 14.79 ± 4.59 for perceived severity, 20.64 ± 6.60 for perceived benefits, 15.93 ± 4.09 for perceived barriers, and 21.78 ± 7.14 for self-efficacy. The mean SCSKS total scores of the university students were significantly and positively correlated with the HBMSSC subdimensions. Gender explained 1.58 of the variance in perceived benefits and 1.65 of the variance in self-efficacy, whereas the SCSKS score explained most other variables.
CONCLUSIONS: The students\' knowledge of skin cancer and sun protection was moderate. Their attitudes and beliefs regarding skin cancer were unexpected. This study identified students\' knowledge of skin cancer and sun protection as the most important variables for improving their attitudes and beliefs about skin cancer.

BACKGROUND: Learning environment (LE) research has been given priority in higher education institutions globally because of its influence on learning processes and outcomes. Although studies reporting the perceptions of health science students about LE in Nigeria are available, none have compared the perceptions of students from different health professions. Therefore, this study aimed to assess final-year clinical students\' perceptions of their LE from four programs (dentistry, medicine, nursing, and physiotherapy) and compared their LE perceptions.
METHODS: This study adopted a cross-sectional study design using a mixed method approach. The quantitative survey involved all the final-year clinical students at the University of Ibadan, and they completed the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) questionnaire. The qualitative aspect involved 24 consenting students in four focus group discussions.
RESULTS: A total of 214 out of 223 copies of the DREEM questionnaire were duly completed and returned, yielding 96.0% response rate. The participants\' mean age was 24 ± 2.3 years (ranged between 22 and 25 years, p = 0.001). The mean DREEM scores of the students from the four programs ranged between 119.68 ± 18.02 and 147.65 ± 15.89 out of a maximum of 200, interpreted as more positive than negative perceptions of LE. Physiotherapy students\' DREEM score was significantly higher than those of medical, dental, and nursing students (p < 0.001). The DREEM scores of other students did not differ significantly (p > 0.05). Dental and medical students had similar positive perceptions. The qualitative aspect revealed that the students had positive perceptions of their teachers\' knowledge base and self-acquisition of knowledge but negative perceptions of their teachers\' communication skills, infrastructural facilities, lecturer-student relationships, and hostel accommodations.
CONCLUSIONS: Although the survey indicated that these clinical students had more positive than negative perceptions of their learning environment, the qualitative aspect of the study revealed many challenges that the students were confronted with. The clinical students\' perception of their learning environment could be improved if the university authorities would address these challenges.