Perceptions and Experiences of Undergraduate Medical Students Regarding Social Accountability: a Cross-sectional Study at a Subsaharan African Medical School

Abstract

Abstract Background Medical schools are called to be socially accountable as a feature of excellent medical education. Medical students are essential to the development of socially accountable medical schools. Therefore, understanding the perceptions and experiences of medical students regarding social accountability is critical for efforts to improve social accountability practices and outcomes. Methods This cross-sectional online questionnaire-based survey used Google Forms and involved medical students in their fourth and fifth years of study at the Makerere University School of Medicine. The survey was conducted between September 2022 and October 2023. We used a study questionnaire and the Students’ toolkit for social accountability in medical schools to collect data on demographics, perceptions and experiences and evaluate social accountability. Results A total of 426 medical students responded to the online questionnaire. The mean age of the students was 25.24 ± 4.4 years. Most of the students were male (71.3%), and most were in their fourth year of study (65%). Most of the students (43.66%) evaluated the school as having a good level of social accountability. The evaluation items referring to community-based research and positive impact on the community had the highest mean scores. Only 6 (3.64%) students provided an accurate definition of social accountability. Students receiving career guidance in secondary school was associated with evaluating social accountability in the medical school as strong (p-0.003). Conclusions Medical students evaluated the medical school favorably in terms of social accountability. Receiving career guidance in secondary school was significantly associated with a positive evaluation of social accountability.