Medical Student’s Awareness and Perceptions of Massive Media Coverage on Fatality After Spider Bite in Thailand

Objective: To evaluate the level of awareness amongst medical students in regard to a recently reported fatal spider bite in Thailand. To determine whether the students accurately understood the reported news. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hos...

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Main Author: Thanjira Jiranantakan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Mahidol University 2017-08-01
Series:Siriraj Medical Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/sirirajmedj/article/view/96717
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spelling doaj-23239bbee39f4d0bba23ec454ebaedc52021-08-13T09:50:15ZengMahidol UniversitySiriraj Medical Journal2228-80822017-08-01694Medical Student’s Awareness and Perceptions of Massive Media Coverage on Fatality After Spider Bite in ThailandThanjira Jiranantakan Objective: To evaluate the level of awareness amongst medical students in regard to a recently reported fatal spider bite in Thailand. To determine whether the students accurately understood the reported news. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand. Participants included medical students who studied during July 2014. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to medical students from August 2015 to March 2016. Results: Of the 1104 questionnaires distributed, 532 students responded (48.2%). The mean age was 22.5 years (SD ± 1.5 years). Only 212 participants (40%) indicated awareness of the reported news, with the least proportion being 2nd year students (29.1%, p=0.014). Of the 212 students who reported awareness of the news, only 116 (55.2%) perceived it correctly. Correct perception of the news was most prevalent amongst 6th year medical students (65.7%). It was noted that all respondents had one or more lessons covering animal toxins, including spiders, but only 64(12.1%) were able to recall this fact. Conclusion: The majority of students who participated in this study were either unaware of the news concerning fatal spider bite, or were aware but had misunderstood the reported facts. This occurred despite intense media coverage of this incident. It is therefore proposed that the medical curriculum should be designed to enable students to have more time for extra-curricular activities, especially those which relate directly to their field of study. https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/sirirajmedj/article/view/96717Spidermedical studentenvenomationmediaBrown recluse
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Thanjira Jiranantakan
spellingShingle Thanjira Jiranantakan
Medical Student’s Awareness and Perceptions of Massive Media Coverage on Fatality After Spider Bite in Thailand
Siriraj Medical Journal
Spider
medical student
envenomation
media
Brown recluse
author_facet Thanjira Jiranantakan
author_sort Thanjira Jiranantakan
title Medical Student’s Awareness and Perceptions of Massive Media Coverage on Fatality After Spider Bite in Thailand
title_short Medical Student’s Awareness and Perceptions of Massive Media Coverage on Fatality After Spider Bite in Thailand
title_full Medical Student’s Awareness and Perceptions of Massive Media Coverage on Fatality After Spider Bite in Thailand
title_fullStr Medical Student’s Awareness and Perceptions of Massive Media Coverage on Fatality After Spider Bite in Thailand
title_full_unstemmed Medical Student’s Awareness and Perceptions of Massive Media Coverage on Fatality After Spider Bite in Thailand
title_sort medical student’s awareness and perceptions of massive media coverage on fatality after spider bite in thailand
publisher Mahidol University
series Siriraj Medical Journal
issn 2228-8082
publishDate 2017-08-01
description Objective: To evaluate the level of awareness amongst medical students in regard to a recently reported fatal spider bite in Thailand. To determine whether the students accurately understood the reported news. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand. Participants included medical students who studied during July 2014. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to medical students from August 2015 to March 2016. Results: Of the 1104 questionnaires distributed, 532 students responded (48.2%). The mean age was 22.5 years (SD ± 1.5 years). Only 212 participants (40%) indicated awareness of the reported news, with the least proportion being 2nd year students (29.1%, p=0.014). Of the 212 students who reported awareness of the news, only 116 (55.2%) perceived it correctly. Correct perception of the news was most prevalent amongst 6th year medical students (65.7%). It was noted that all respondents had one or more lessons covering animal toxins, including spiders, but only 64(12.1%) were able to recall this fact. Conclusion: The majority of students who participated in this study were either unaware of the news concerning fatal spider bite, or were aware but had misunderstood the reported facts. This occurred despite intense media coverage of this incident. It is therefore proposed that the medical curriculum should be designed to enable students to have more time for extra-curricular activities, especially those which relate directly to their field of study.
topic Spider
medical student
envenomation
media
Brown recluse
url https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/sirirajmedj/article/view/96717
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