Factors influencing medical students and psychiatry residents in Ghana to consider psychiatry as a career option - a qualitative study

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dc.contributor.authorAgyapong, Vincent I. O.
dc.contributor.authorRitchie, Amanda
dc.contributor.authorDoucet, Kacy
dc.contributor.authorAgyapong-Opoku, Gerald
dc.contributor.authorShalaby, Reham
dc.contributor.authorHrabok, Marianne
dc.contributor.authorUlzen, Thaddeus
dc.contributor.authorOsei, Akwasi
dc.contributor.otherUniversity of Alberta
dc.contributor.otherAlberta Health Services (AHS)
dc.contributor.otherUniversity of Calgary
dc.contributor.otherUniversity of Alabama Tuscaloosa
dc.date.accessioned2023-09-28T20:40:16Z
dc.date.available2023-09-28T20:40:16Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.description.abstractBackground Currently, Ghana has 14 actively practicing psychiatrists and about 26 psychiatric residents for a population of over 28 million people. Previous research suggests a lack of interest by Ghanaian medical students and medical graduates in considering psychiatry as a career option. Objectives To examine the perception of medical students and psychiatry residents in Ghana about the barriers which hinder Ghanaian medical graduates from choosing careers in psychiatry and how these barriers could be overcome. Methods This was a cross-sectional qualitative study with data gathered using focus group discussion. Twenty clinical year medical students were selected through block randomization from the four public medical schools in Ghana and invited to participate in one of two focus group discussions. Also, four psychiatric residents were invited to participate in the focus group discussions. Results The main barriers identified by participants could be grouped under four main themes, namely: (a) myths and stigma surrounding mental health and patients, (b) negative perceptions of psychiatrists, (c) infrastructure and funding issues, (d) lack of exposure and education. To address the barriers presented, participants discussed potential solutions that could be categorized into five main themes, namely: (a) stigma reduction, (b) educating professionals, (c) addressing deficient infrastructure, (d) risk management, and (e) incentivizing the pursuit of psychiatry among students. Conclusion Health policy planners and medical training institutions could consider implementing proposed solutions to identify barriers as part of efforts to improve the psychiatrist to patient ratio in Ghana.en_US
dc.format.mediumelectronic
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationAgyapong, V. I. O., Ritchie, A., Doucet, K., Agyapong-Opoku, G., Shalaby, R., Hrabok, M., Ulzen, T., & Osei, A. (2020). Factors influencing medical students and psychiatry residents in Ghana to consider psychiatry as a career option – a qualitative study. In Global Mental Health (Vol. 7). Cambridge University Press (CUP). https://doi.org/10.1017/gmh.2020.24
dc.identifier.doi10.1017/gmh.2020.24
dc.identifier.orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2743-0372
dc.identifier.urihttps://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/11766
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherCambridge University Press
dc.rights.licenseAttribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectCareers
dc.subjectincentives
dc.subjectmedical students
dc.subjectpsychiatry
dc.subjectstigma
dc.subjectrisk
dc.subjectATTITUDES
dc.subjectPERCEPTION
dc.subjectPsychiatry
dc.titleFactors influencing medical students and psychiatry residents in Ghana to consider psychiatry as a career option - a qualitative studyen_US
dc.typeArticle
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