Content analysis of official curriculum of medical sciences from the perspective of early childhood development

Abstract

Introduction: Today, social determinants of health are defined as one of the most important approaches in examining health differences among communities as well as within them. In this approach, Early Childhood Development has been a centeral theme in the comprehensive evolution of the child. This study endeavored to examine the content analysis of the Medical Sciences’ curriculum from the perspective of Early Childhood Development. Methods: In view of that, in this qualitative study through content analysis approach based on the pattern of the social factors affecting health, the content of the undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral degree programs in Medical University of Isfahan Sciences were analyzed After several stages of screening 27 medical sciences official curriculum were analyzed using MAXQDA. Results: The results of content analysis showed that in undergraduate and postgraduate, most of the topics related to Early Childhood Development were from Midwifery and Pediatric Nursing, respectively; that is to say courses containing the concept of Early Childhood Development were related to Bachelor of Midwifery, Bachelor of Public Health, and Master of Pediatric Nursing, respectively. Conclusion: Comparing three undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral degrees, most of the Early Childhood Developmental topics belong to undergraduate degree. The purpose of medical education is gaining knowledge, skills, and information necessary for care and promoting the health of the community, Medical students' didactic content needs to be socially oriented. In the course headings, the social determinants of health and in particular the topics related to the evolution of early childhood need to be highlighted