OBJECTIVES

This study protocol aims to explore the perceptions of OT educators in the Philippines regarding the use of AI in OT education and to identify perceived facilitators and barriers to its implementation in OT educational settings.

A qualitative descriptive design will be employed using purposive sampling. Approximately 10–12 OT educators from a higher education institution in Metro Manila, Philippines, will be recruited. Data will be collected through a focus group discussion to elicit in-depth perspectives on AI use in OT education. Thematic analysis will be conducted to identify recurring patterns and overarching themes related to AI integration.

The study protocol includes its expected results, which are to provide context-specific insights into the opportunities and challenges associated with integrating AI in OT education in the Philippines. Findings may inform instructional strategies, curriculum development, institutional policies, investment in technological infrastructure, and faculty development initiatives related to AI adoption

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to explore the perceptions of UST Occupational Therapy students regarding AI chatbots in the context of school-related activities. It will further focus on their concerns, utility, and perceived effects of AI on learning related to school activities

A qualitative descriptive design will be used and will utilize three focus group discussions, one for each year level (first, second, and third-year students), to gather extensive and accurate accounts of students’ perceptions. Thematic analysis, using manual coding and following Braun and Clarke’s six-phase analytic framework, will be employed for data analysis.

The study is expected to generate themes describing students’ perceived usefulness, concerns, and learning-related impacts of AI, providing insights that may support the responsible and informed integration of AI in occupational therapy education.

INTRODUCTION: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a critical global health threat, with millions of deaths attributed to it annually. Antibiotic stewardship to combat AMR is the responsibility of all healthcare professionals. Despite evidence suggesting that it is unnecessary, dentists routinely prescribe prophylactic antibiotics following third molar (3M) surgeries. METHOD: This mixed-methods study examined the behavioural barriers influencing antibiotic prescribing practices within the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the National University Centre for Oral Health Singapore. This study used the capability, opportunity and motivation for behavioural change or COM-B framework to implement interventions targeting the behavioural barriers. RESULTS: Pre- and post-intervention data over 6 months showed a significant reduction in antibiotic prescriptions from 84.45% to 20.89%, following the implementation of COM-B strategies (P<0.001). Qualitative feedback from focus group discussions highlighted a positive shift in clinicians' attitudes towards antibiotic reduction, acknowledging the minimal infection risk associated with non-prescribing practices. Notably, complication rates remained stable throughout the study period, indicating no adverse effects from reduced antibiotic usage. CONCLUSION These findings demonstrated that the COM-B model can be successfully applied to modify deeply ingrained prescription habits, and underscored the effectiveness of a structured behavioural change intervention in enhancing compliance with antibiotic stewardship guidelines. The study advocates continuation of initiatives to sustain this positive trend and mitigate AMR in clinical practice.
Humans ; Molar, Third/surgery* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use* ; Singapore ; Antimicrobial Stewardship/methods* ; Practice Patterns, Dentists'/statistics & numerical data* ; Antibiotic Prophylaxis ; Female ; Attitude of Health Personnel ; Male ; Tooth Extraction ; Adult ; Focus Groups ; Practice Patterns, Physicians'

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to define and clarify the concept of political competence for nurses.METHODS: A hybrid model method was used to investigate the dimensions, attributes, and definitions of the concept. In the theoretical stage of the study, literature on nursing, politics, and other discipline were reviewed. In the fieldwork stage, individual in-depth interviews and focus groups interviews were conducted with politically seasoned experts or activists who had an understanding of the concept of political competence for extensive descriptions in nursing and field of health care.RESULTS: The concept of political competence was represented in four dimensions as political knowledge, political efficacy, political interaction, and political activity. In the political knowledge dimension, there were three attributes, namely, political knowledge, political information and systematic analysis ability. The political efficacy dimension had three attributes of internal political efficacy, external political efficacy, and self-pride of nursing profession. The political interaction dimension had three attributes of organizations and community service, networking, and persuasive power. The political activity dimension had six attributes of political leadership, political expression, assertive behavior, political advocacy, political participation, and policy intervention.CONCLUSION: This concept development might provide a basic understanding of developing a measurement tool and for constructing a theory promoting nurses' political competence.
Concept Formation ; Delivery of Health Care ; Focus Groups ; Leadership ; Mental Competency ; Methods ; Nursing ; Politics ; Professional Competence ; Seasons ; Social Welfare

OBJECTIVES: A Womans University College of Medicine faces curriculum reform in 2020. To determine what reforms are needed in the premedical curriculum, a needs assessment was conducted.METHODS: This study utilizes qualitative study method. A focus group interview was conducted with four students who completed premedical courses from November to December 2018. Interviews were conducted in two groups by grade level, and each interview was recorded. After transcribing the recorded contents, four researchers analyzed the data using conventional content analysis.RESULTS: Students chose A Womans University College of Medicine considering their future careers as female medical professionals and other considerations such as scholarships. The students expected diverse experiences, exchanges with students in different departments, and fusion of medicine with other fields during their premedical years. Overall, these expectations were met during the course, but individual needs for customized education, such as liberal arts, were unmet. In general, students' attitudes toward premedical courses were very motivated and they actively used resources provided by the university.CONCLUSION: Qualitative research can provide a better understanding of quantitative data, such as a student survey performed to prepare for curriculum reform. Based on this understanding, the curriculum will be reformed to reflect the educational needs of students, to motivate students and to provide satisfactory education.
Curriculum ; Education ; Education, Medical ; Fellowships and Scholarships ; Female ; Focus Groups ; Humans ; Methods ; Needs Assessment ; Program Evaluation ; Qualitative Research ; Students, Premedical

focus group interview was conducted with six health professionals. For quantitative research, a self-reported survey was administered. A total of 542 health professionals participated in the survey, and 526 completed the entire questionnaire. Health professionals showed positive attitudes toward precision medicine. About 95–96% of respondents agreed that precision medicine will be effective in treatment and precise diagnosis, and 69.9% reported that they would participate as study subjects. Meanwhile, they expressed concerns regarding educating patients and health professionals in precision medicine and developing research and data sharing infrastructure. Also, they emphasized the importance of developing precision medicine in an equitable way. Despite varying levels of awareness of precision medicine, the health professionals expressed a willingness to engage in precision medicine research, and recommended that health professionals work closely with policymakers to design precision medicine in a way that can be effectively adopted. Health professionals showed had a positive, but cautious, attitude toward precision medicine. The results of this study suggest areas to be addressed before ushering in precision medicine in Korea.]]>
Diagnosis ; Focus Groups ; Health Occupations ; Humans ; Information Dissemination ; Korea ; Methods ; Precision Medicine ; Qualitative Research ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study is to understand the experiences of career exploration among nursing students during their clinical practice and to develop a theoretical framework for the career exploration process. METHODS: From February 2 to 28, 2015, data were collected through focus group interviews from 24 participating fourth-year nursing students. The data were analyzed using grounded theory. RESULTS: The central phenomenon of 'confusion between the ideal and the reality of nursing' occurred in contexts for various reasons of choosing one's major, nurses in the ideal, a vague fear of the field, arduous nursing assignments in the field, and severe adversity in the nursing field. Nursing students tried to deal with their confusion by using interaction strategies such as pursuing the intrinsic value of nursing, finding role models, trying to project oneself, and preparing for adapting to reality. The career exploration process in clinical practice was a voyage to discover the authentic nurse of the pre-registration nurse. CONCLUSION: This result shows that nursing students were to gain confidence in their career choices by finding the value of nursing and interacting with patients. Therefore, opportunities for learning experiences about interaction with patients and various positive experiences in clinical practice should be provided for nursing students.
Career Choice ; Focus Groups ; Grounded Theory ; Humans ; Learning ; Nursing ; Nursing, Practical ; Qualitative Research ; Students, Nursing

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore and understand nursing students' nunchi experiences in clinical practice. METHODS: Participants were nursing students in the third and fourth years who had clinical experience. A total of 20 nursing students were divided into three focus groups based on their grade levels and gender. Data were collected from December 2017 to March 2018 through focus group interviews and were analyzed via Colaizzi's phenomenological methodology. RESULTS: The study results consisted of 5 theme clusters, 11 themes, and 24 subthemes. These clusters were: confusion about ambiguous behavioral standards, effort in following social norms, concern about getting hurt, physical and psychological exhaustion, and forming social attitudes. CONCLUSION: These results show that nunchi has positive and negative effects on the clinical practice of nursing students. We need to improve the causes of nunchi, which can have a negative impact on clinical practice.
Focus Groups ; Humans ; Nursing ; Social Norms ; Students, Nursing

PURPOSE: This study aimed to develop a web-based cost management program for visiting nursing centers (CMP-VNC), using time-driven activity-based costing (TD-ABC), and to analyze effects of the program. METHODS: The CMP-VNC was developed using the combined prototyping approach and system developing life cycle method following four stages: need analysis with comprehensive literature reviews and focus group interviews, design and development of program algorithm, evaluation of the developed program validity using experts and users group, and application and effects analysis. The non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used to analyze the effects of the program. The program demonstration was conducted for four weeks with 60 visiting nurses in 35 visiting centers. RESULTS: The web-based program was developed. It has five interfaces with basic and special functions using TD-ABC, namely, input, visiting nursing activity, visiting nursing activity cost, cost efficiency, and cost calculation report. The experimental group showed significantly higher cost perception and cost confidence than control group. CONCLUSION: We found that the CMP-VNC can be an effective tool to increase visiting nurses' competency of costing and enhance efficiencies of visiting nursing centers.
Costs and Cost Analysis ; Focus Groups ; Internet ; Life Cycle Stages ; Methods ; Nurses, Community Health ; Nursing

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to analyze the barriers affecting the utilization of antenatal care (ANC) among Senegalese mothers. METHODS: Health facility staffs were surveyed to examine the availability coverage of ANC (infrastructural capacity of health posts to handle maternal and newborn healthcare). A total of 113 women of childbearing age were surveyed to identify factors associated with the accessibility coverage (physical, economic, and information accessibility factors), acceptability coverage (socio-cultural features, social acceptance, and language), and effectiveness coverage (ratio of mothers having completed 4 visits) of ANC. Further, to identify the socio-cultural factors and the specific characteristics of the barriers, 5 focus group discussions were conducted with women of childbearing age, their husbands and mothers-in-law, community health workers, and health facility staff. The effectiveness coverage of ANC was analyzed by reviewing materials from the District Health Information System 2 of Senegal. RESULTS: Key barriers of ANC utilization were associated with acceptability coverage. ANC during early pregnancy was avoided owing to the negative social stigma surrounding miscarriage. The survey results indicated an extremely high miscarriage rate of 30.9% among the participants. The social stigma towards unmarried mothers caused them to hide their pregnancy, which deterred ANC utilization. The husband was the final decision maker and social supporter on ANC utilization. CONCLUSION: To promote the utilization of ANC services among pregnant women in Senegal, it is important to alleviate the social stigma towards miscarriages and unmarried mothers, and to provide greater social support for pregnancies and newborn deliveries within family.
Abortion, Spontaneous ; Community Health Workers ; Female ; Focus Groups ; Health Facilities ; Health Information Systems ; Humans ; Illegitimacy ; Infant Health ; Infant, Newborn ; Maternal Health ; Mothers ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Senegal ; Social Distance ; Social Stigma ; Spouses