Beyond the bedside: A cross sectional study of perceptions and attitudes of Medical students towards physician's Health advocate role

Abstract

Background Health outcomes are shaped by the conditions in which people are born, live, and work: the social determinants of health. Yet, traditional approaches to health and medical education often assume a high degree of individual agency and underestimate determinants that constrain personal choices. To address this imbalance, the integration of health advocacy into medical education became essentialObjectiveThe study aims to explore the perceptions and attitudes of undergraduate medical students at Alexandria Faculty of Medicine toward physicians’ role as a health advocateMethods A cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted at Alexandria Faculty of Medicine. A non-probability sample of 279 final year medical students and medical interns were included. The questionnaire included three sections: demographics, previous experiencing health advocacy situations, and attitudes towards health advocate roles.Results Out of 279 participants, 96 (34.4%) were final year medical students and 183 (65.6%) were medical interns. 52 % reported facing situations where they acted as health advocates by taking actions for the patient. 67.4% demonstrated positive attitudes towards health advocacy roles, capabilities, and future practice. Female gender, final year medical students, or positive attitude towards teaching health advocacy significantly predicts positive attitudes towards health advocacy (P value= 0.023* 0.003*, and 0.023*respectively). Conclusion Participants recognized the importance of incorporating health advocacy into undergraduate medical education. Overall, participants expressed positive attitudes toward health advocacy. Predictors of positive attitudes included female gender, being a final-year medical student rather than an intern and assigning high importance to the inclusion of health advocacy in undergraduate training.