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'

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 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

OBJECTIVES: This study is to scrutinize the website of Seoul National University Hospital in Korea, Clinique Valmont in Switzerland, Medical Center of the University of Munich in Germany, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to suggest successful communication factors to the medical service providers who deal with Middle Eastern patients. METHODS: Using content analysis and in-depth interviews, this research examines four hospitals commonly visited by Middle East patients. The four hospitals approaches to implementing interactive e-health tools on their web sites are reviewed. Four hospitals selection criterion was process by focus group interview of government officials in UAE health sectors. RESULTS: The way of providing medical information differed by hospitals that used e-health tools. The analysis of each website shows a different way providing medical information, services and education. There are important differences among hospitals. These include decision-making, planning processes and outcomes of implementing e-health tools online, as well as potential obstacles to such implementation. Thus, hospitals can learn and design effective interactive tools by applying e-health tools on their websites. CONCLUSIONS: Each website showed different interactive tools such as traditional functional tools, core e-business tools, patient support tools, visitor related tools, emerging functional tools. By applying the interactive e-health tools sets an objective view for e-health strategy and vision for the hospitals conveying information through the website. According to the type of hospitals and its location different methods of strategy should be applied. Targeting not only the patients but also the general website users will eventually improve health information accessibility.
Education ; Focus Groups ; Germany ; Health Impact Assessment ; Humans ; Korea ; Middle East ; Occupational Groups ; Patient Participation ; Seoul ; Switzerland ; Telemedicine ; United Arab Emirates*

BACKGROUND: Smoking cessation services for inpatients can be provided effectively through interdisciplinary collaborations. Physicians could play a central role in smoking cessation counseling and treatment for recovery from illness and health promotion of the inpatient. This study aimed to investigate the perspectives of physicians on inpatient smoking cessation services. METHODS: We conducted one personal and two focus group interviews with clinical faculties at a university hospital in Seoul and a university hospital in Chungnam using semi-structured questionnaires. Interviews were recorded, and the transcribed verbatim was analyzed qualitatively. RESULTS: The physicians recognized the need for inpatient smoking cessation services and recognized that smoking cessation was effective when the patient had a smoking-related illness such as respiratory or cardiovascular disease Additionally, the physicians recognized the need for hospital management to support smoking cessation in hospitalized patients and recognized that it was effective to have a dedicated workforce with a smoking cessation coordinator. There was support from four types of physicians in the smoking cessation program: active participant, passive supporter, passive ignorer, and active refuser. CONCLUSIONS: The physician is important for the effective implementation of inpatient smoking cessation services. A dedicated team for the smoking cessation of the inpatient, the establishment of evidence-based data on the effectiveness of the inpatient smoking cessation services, and development of customized smoking cessation services will be necessary to strengthen the role of physicians.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Cooperative Behavior ; Counseling ; Focus Groups ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Seoul ; Smoke ; Smoking Cessation ; Smoking

PURPOSE: Continuing professional development is essential for improving health care services, especially in developing countries. Most of the training programs in Mongolia were not based on a targeted needs assessment. Therefore, we aimed to apply a mixed methods design to assess the training needs of Mongolian health professions. METHODS: We conducted a needs assessment using a convergent parallel mixed methods design in two steps. The survey and interview questions were developed to identify priority areas, targeted trainees, and effective training methods. A survey on 60 respondents, 15 individual interviews, and a focus group interview with 14 participants were conducted in the first step. In the second step, 12 representatives of key stakeholders were invited to a second focus group interview. RESULTS: Current health policy areas, areas related to future national plans, and areas not currently receiving governmental or international support were suggested as the main priorities. The stakeholder suggested that trainees should be selected based on their professional experience and language level, as well as each hospital’s needs. Building teams including various professions, such as nurses, technicians, and biomedical engineers, was recommended as a way to exchange ideas with each other and to build teamwork for future collaboration. CONCLUSION: Medical training needs are dynamic and complex; therefore, a deep understanding of the context and setting is necessary. In this study, we assessed the targeted training needs of Mongolian health professions through a mixed methods design, which could be an effective way to conduct needs assessments for training programs.
Cooperative Behavior ; Delivery of Health Care ; Developing Countries ; Education ; Fellowships and Scholarships ; Focus Groups ; Health Occupations ; Health Policy ; Methods ; Mongolia ; Needs Assessment ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: Mine workers in South Africa face challenges relating to poor health and safety, including fatigue risks, and poor socioeconomic and living conditions. Fatigue results in impaired mental and physical performance. The aim of this study was to assess contributors to fatigue of mine workers in South Africa. METHODS: Data collection took place at four gold mines and one platinum mine in South Africa. A total of 21 focus groups were held with individuals in management, union representatives, and mine workers, and 564 questionnaires were completed by mine workers to gather information about fatigue and potential contributors to fatigue at these mines. RESULTS: Qualitatively (through focus groups), fatigue was attributed to extended working hours, harsh working conditions, high workloads, production pressure, and resource constraints, along with aspects relating to demographic and socioeconomic factors, living conditions, lifestyle, health, and wellness. Greater fatigue was significantly associated with younger age, indebtedness, a lack of exercise, poor nutrition, less sleep, increased alcohol use, poor self-reported health, more sick leave, higher stress, and lower job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The aim of the study was achieved; numerous work-, sociodemographic-, lifestyle-, and wellness-related factors were linked to fatigue in the participating mine workers. Contributors to fatigue should be addressed to improve health, safety, and sustainability in the industry.
Data Collection ; Environment and Public Health ; Fatigue ; Focus Groups ; Job Satisfaction ; Life Style ; Miners ; Mining ; Platinum ; Sick Leave ; Social Conditions ; Socioeconomic Factors ; South Africa