Exploring QU health students’ behavioral determinants, perspectives, and experiences toward student leadership: A quantitative study

Objective: Leadership is an essential part of student’s learning experience in the college. The main aim of this study is to determine and explore QU health student’s perspectives and experiences toward leadership. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during the academic year 2021. A web-based questionnaire was circulated to 1352 QU health students. Participants were asked to complete a 5-point Likert scale developed using theoretical domains framework (TDF) to identify their perception and behavioral determinants about leadership. They were also asked to rank the importance of personal, interpersonal capabilities, and markers of success of leadership. Participants were asked to answer open- ended questions to determine the training and support needed for leadership. Results: In total, 179 complete responses were collected. About (43.6%) of students strongly agreed that it is crucial for healthcare students to be involved in leadership. Most students agreed that they are capable of carrying leadership responsibilities. Around 71.4% of leaders in QU health perceived that teaching quality improvement as very important to extremely important marker of leader’s success. Students identified that negotiation and communication are important skills for leadership. Conclusion: Our study suggests that QU health students perceive leadership as positive and important experience of college life and show high interest for training programs and workshops for student leaders.