Iranian future healthcare professionals' knowledge and opinions about rare diseases: cross-sectional study
Year: 2022
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Rare diseases are a new global health priority, requiring evidence-based estimates of the global prevalence of diseases to inform public policymakers and provide a serious challenge to the healthcare system that must not be ignored. The purpose of this study is to investigate Iranian future healthcare professionals' knowledge and opinions about rare diseases. RESULTS: A total of 6838 students responded to the questionnaire. Nursing and medical students had the highest participation. Almost 85% of participants rated their knowledge about rare diseases as poor or insufficient. While nearly 70 percent of participants took courses about rare diseases at university. Finally, 72.7% of future healthcare professionals did not feel ready to take care of a patient with a rare disease. CONCLUSION: The present study has indicated a gap in Iranian medical students' knowledge of rare diseases. The researchers believe that health science policymakers should make a joint effort to improve knowledge about rare diseases. Including courses with regard to rare diseases would be of benefit to future healthcare professionals.
Authors: Reza Jahanshahi, Amirreza Nasirzadeh, Mahan Farzan, Jan Domaradzki, Leila Jouybari, Akram Sanagoo, Mahour Farzan, Komeil Aghazadeh-Habashi, Ahmadreza Fallah Faraghe, Sadegh Bagheri, Marziyeh Samiee, Arina Ansari, Kimia Eskandari, Negar Namakkoobi, Fatemeh Soltanimoghadam, Hadi Mashali, Erfan Yavari, Saba Bay, Nafiseh Memaripanah, Elahe Meftah, Saeed Amanzadeh, Fatemeh Talati, Sasan Bahramzadeh
Institutions: Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Torbat Heydarieh University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Science and Arts University, Shiraz University, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Hamedan University of Medical Sciences
Language: English
Topic: Genomics and Rare Diseases
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,680
OpenAlex ID: W4297963182