Global Health Education: a cross-sectional study among German medical students to identify needs, deficits and potential benefits (Part 2 of 2: Knowledge gaps and potential benefits)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Germany, educational deficits or potential benefits involved in global health education have not been analysed till now.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>We assess the importance medical students place on learning about social determinants of health (SDH) and assess their knowledge of global health topics in relation to (i) mobility patterns, their education in (ii) tropical medicine or (iii) global health.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross-sectional study among medical students from all 36 medical schools in Germany using a web-based, semi-structured questionnaire. Participants were recruited via mailing-lists of students' unions, all medical students registered in 2007 were eligible to participate in the study. We captured international mobility patterns, exposure to global health learning opportunities and attitudes to learning about SDH. Both an objective and subjective knowledge assessment were performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>1126 online-replies were received and analysed. International health electives in developing countries correlated significantly with a higher importance placed on all provided SDH (p ≤ 0.006). Participation in tropical medicine (p < 0.03) and global health courses (p < 0.02) were significantly associated with a higher rating of 'culture, language and religion' and the 'economic system'. Global health trainings correlated with significantly higher ratings of the 'educational system' (p = 0.007) and the 'health system structure' (p = 0.007), while the item 'politics' was marginally significant (p = 0.053).</p> <p>In the knowledge assessment students achieved an average score of 3.6 (SD 1.5; Mdn 4.0), 75% achieved a score of 4.0 or less (Q₂₅= 3.0; Q₇₅= 4.0) from a maximum achievable score of 8.0. A better performance was associated with international health electives (p = 0.032), participation in tropical medicine (p = 0.038) and global health (p = 0.258) courses.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The importance medical students in our sample placed on learning about SDH strongly interacts with students' mobility, and participation in tropical medicine and global health courses. The knowledge assessment revealed deficits and outlined needs to further analyse education gaps in global health. Developing concerted educational interventions aimed at fostering students' engagement with SDH could make full use of synergy effects inherent in student mobility, tropical medicine and global health education.</p

The Chinese version of the Gold-MSI: Adaptation and validation of an inventory for the measurement of musical sophistication in a Taiwanese sample

This study presents the Chinese adaptation of the Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index (Gold-MSI), an instrument for measuring individual differences in musical ability and skilled musical behaviour. Its psychometric properties were examined with a Taiwanese sample. The Gold-MSI inventory was translated into Chinese following recommendations from the literature on cross-cultural test development. Subsequently, the psychometric properties of the Chinese Gold-MSI self-report inventory, including the Melody Memory Task and the Beat Alignment Perception Task, were evaluated using an online survey with 1,065 participants. Results of confirmatory factor analysis suggest that the original factor structure of the Gold-MSI inventory showed an acceptable fit with the data from the Chinese-speaking sample. In addition, the Chinese Gold-MSI inventory shows good reliability. The Melody Memory Task and the Beat Alignment Perception Task also have sufficient test-retest reliability. Finally, correlations between the Chinese Gold-MSI inventory and the Musical-Rhythmic Intelligence subscale of the Eight Multiple Intelligences Questionnaire as well as the two additional music tests provide evidence for convergent and divergent validity. Overall, the data suggest that the Chinese Gold-MSI has good psychometric properties. Percentile norms for the Gold-MSI inventory and the music tests from the present sample are reported for use in future studies. The present study thus makes a valuable contribution to cross-cultural research in music psychology by enabling the comparison between Chinese and Western studies of individual differences in musical ability