Perceptions of intercultural competence and institutional intercultural inclusiveness among first year medical students: a 4-year study

BMC Medical Education

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[1] 0000 0004 0474 1797, grid.1011.1, College of Medicine and Dentistry, Division of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, QLD, 4811, Townsville, Australia;

关键词: Medical students;    Intercultural competence;    Institutional intercultural inclusiveness;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12909-019-1780-y

来源: publisher

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThis study sought to examine the awareness/perception of intercultural competence and institutional intercultural inclusiveness among first year students at an Australian medical school over four consecutive years (2014–2017); to identify existing gaps in the curriculum and proffer recommendations.MethodsThe study employed an adapted 20-item questionnaire for data collection. The reliability and interrelations of the survey items were examined. Descriptive statistics was used to examine students’ perceptions, while Mann-U Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to assess items scores in relation to participant characteristics.ResultsOver the 4 years of study, there were 520 respondents with between 53 to 69% response rates per year. Cronbach’s alpha for the instrument was 0.88 and factor analysis showed all items loading strongly on two components. Participants’ mean score on self-reported intercultural competence levels ranged from 3.8–4.6 out of 5; indicating relatively high awareness, valuing and understanding of cultural differences among this group of students. However, their mean scores (3.4–4.2) for institutional intercultural inclusiveness were slightly lower.ConclusionThe instrument used in this study is effective in assessing level of intercultural competence among medical students. However, the results highlight the need for increased institutional support and professional development for faculty members to foster institutional intercultural inclusiveness.

【 授权许可】

CC BY