INTRODUCTION: Patient-centred medical care has been rising in importance since the turn of the century. It entails treating patients in relation to their biopsychosocial outlook so as to support the management of their conditions. The extent to which a patient is enabled to acquire skills and knowledge can be measured with the Patient Enablement Instrument (PEI) proposed by Howie and colleagues, and it has been noted to be more reflective of a good consultation compared to patient satisfaction scores. This study aimed to determine the level of patient enablement in the Singaporean context and the factors facilitating it. METHODS: We conducted an embedded mixed method study with primary care patients in two phases: (a) a PEI questionnaire was completed by 150 patients; and (b) a qualitative approach using focused group discussions and individual interviews was used to explore factors associated with high enablement. RESULTS: The mean PEI score was 4.5 ± 4.4, with significantly higher scores among patients attending specialised primary care clinics. Important physician factors were doctors' advice, attitude and relationship with the patient. Critical system factors included good continuity of care, workload and financial support, while patient factors included their beliefs, preparedness, inquisitiveness and trust, with considerable impact from the influence of community. CONCLUSION The PEI score in the Singaporean context is similar to that of other Asian contexts, but slightly higher than that reported in Western studies. Good doctor-patient relationships, efficient systems facilitating continuity of care, and motivated and informed patients all contribute to increased enablement.

INTRODUCTIONIt is uncommon for medical students to deliver public health talks as part of their medical education curriculum. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a novel training programme that required medical students to deliver public health talks during their family medicine (FM) clerkship in a Singapore primary care institution.

METHODSThe FM faculty staff guided teams of third-year medical students to select appropriate topics for health talks that were to be conducted at designated polyclinics. The talks were video-recorded and appraised for clarity, content and delivery. The appraisal was done by the student's peers and assigned faculty staff. The audience was surveyed to determine their satisfaction level and understanding of the talks. The students also self-rated the effectiveness of this new teaching activity.

RESULTSA total of 120 medical students completed a questionnaire to rate the effectiveness of the new teaching activity. 85.8% of the students felt confident about the delivery of their talks, 95.8% reported having learnt how to deliver talks and 92.5% perceived this new training modality as useful in their medical education. Based on the results of the audience survey, the speakers were perceived as knowledgeable (53.1%), confident (51.3%) and professional (39.0%). Assessment of 15 video-recorded talks showed satisfactory delivery of the talks by the students.

CONCLUSIONThe majority of the students reported a favourable overall learning experience under this new training programme. This finding is supported by the positive feedback garnered from the audience, peers of the medical students and the faculty staff.

Adult ; Curriculum ; Education, Medical, Undergraduate ; Family Practice ; education ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Program Evaluation ; Public Health ; education ; Singapore ; Students, Medical ; Teaching ; education ; Video Recording