Evaluation of a scale for assessing medical students' attitudes to the social dimensions of health and preventive services

Abstract

Abstract Objective : The purpose of this study was an evaluation of the reliability and validity of a scale for medical students’ attitudes towards the social dimensions of health and preventive services. Method : 255 (72.9%) out of 350 fourth-year and 304 (83.9%) out of 83.9% of 362 sixth-year students in Ege University Medical Faculty participated the study at the beginning of the 2005-2006 academic-year. The reliability and validity of the scale, which was developed by the researchers, were assessed by Cronbach-alpha coefficients  and factor-analysis. Results: Three factors emerged (the importance of preventive services; the importance of the social dimensions of health; responsibilities in  preventive services) from the factor analysis. These factors explained 48.4% of the total variance. Cronbach alpha value was 0.77. Conclusion: The scale developed and evaluated in this study is a reliable, valid and practicable tool which can be used in the assessment of medical students’ attitudes. Key Words: Undergraduate medical education, attitude of medical students, preventive health services, social dimension of health, validity Ogrencilerin Sagligin Sosyal Boyutu ve Koruyucu Hizmetler ile Ilgili Tutumlarini Belirleyen Bir Olcegin Degerlendirilmesi Ozet Amac: Bu calismanin amaci tip ogrencilerinin sagligin sosyal boyutu ve koruyucu hizmetler ile ilgili tutumlarini belirlemeye yonelik bir olcegin guvenilirlik ve gecerliliginin belirlenmesidir. Yontem: Calismaya 2005-2006 ogrenim yilinin basinda  dorduncu sinifta olan 350 ogrencinin 255’i (% 72.9) ve altinci sinif olan 362 ogrencinin 304’u (% 83.9) katilmistir. Arastiricilar tarafindan gelistirilmis olan olcegin guvenilirlik ve gecerliligi Cronbach-alpha degeri ve faktor analizi araciligi ile degerlendirilmistir. Bulgular: Faktor analizi sonucunda uc tema belirlenmistir (koruyucu hizmetlerin onemi, sagligin sosyal boyutunun onemi, koruyucu hizmetlerde sorumluluklar). Faktorler toplam varyansin % 48.4’unu aciklamis, Cronbach-alpha degeri 0.77 olarak bulunmustur. Sonuc: Bu calismada gelistirilen ve degerlendirilen olcek tip ogrencilerinin tutumlarinin olculmesi amaciyla kullanilabilecek, guvenilir, gecerli ve pratik bir aractir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Mezuniyet oncesi tip egitimi, tip ogrencilerinin tutumlari, koruyucu saglik hizmetleri, sagligin sosyal boyutu, gecerlilik