جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « اپیدمیولوژیست » در نشریات گروه « پزشکی »

Given the significant migration of educated individuals, particularly epidemiologists, throughout the country, it is crucial to investigate the underlying causes. This article presents the findings of an extensive study that sought to explore this issue by gathering insights from experts in the field.

The study was conducted using qualitative methods, employing content analysis. Data were collected between summer and autumn 2023 through semi-structured interviews with 32 epidemiologists in the country. Analysis followed the steps outlined by Lundman and Graneheim, with coding facilitated by MAXQDA software.

The main challenges of epidemiology in Iran were divided into six main categories. In the field of graduate students, problems in recruitment and employment due to the lack of suitable careers, infrastructure and structural problems of the system, research problems and insufficient knowledge about the performance of this field are the most important challenges, and in the field of students, education problems, structural and infrastructure problems were reported. Also, the main reasons for the migration of epidemiologists were the lack of meritocracy and specialization, inappropriate privileges (including the application of unconventional recruitment quotas), lack of a job market and opportunities for graduates, and inadequate compensation and benefits.

Based on the results of this study, it seems that the migration of epidemiologists as a valuable human resource abroad is a serious concern and problem. The lack of a suitable job position and ambiguity in the path to career advancement due to non-adherence to the meritocracy and skill-building system have increased the motivation to migrate in this group.

Today, Journal Club is one of the most effective methods in medical education that is used in almost all medical universities. The aim of this study was to determine the students' satisfaction toward journal club sessions of the surgical department in the presence and absence of an epidemiologist or statistics specialist in Ali-Ibn Abi Talib Hospital in Rafsanjan in 2021.

In this descriptive study, 6 sessions were held with and 8 without the presence of an expert. The target population, all medical students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences studying in the surgery department in the summer of 2021, was included in the study using census. Data collection was done through a researcher-made questionnaire of 32 questions whose validity and reliability were confirmed. Data were analyzed using independent t-test.

The average (standard deviation) satisfaction score in sessions with the presence of an expert (78.79±16.71) was significantly higher than the average satisfaction score in the sessions without the presence of an expert (66.69±10.73) (p<0.001). The average score of satisfaction from the journal-club meetings in the meetings with the presence of an expert according to being male (p<0.001), studying at an internship level (p<0.001), having a total GPA greater than or equal to 17 (p<0.001), having experience in attending the journal club meetings (p<0.001), knowing about the subject of the article (p<0.001), studying about the subject of the article (p<0.001), passing the unit of medical statistics and research methods (p<0.001), holding regular meetings (p<0.001), holding meetings at specific hours (p<0.001), and holding meetings online (p<0.001) were significantly more than meetings without the presence of an expert.

According to the obtained results, the presence of people such as respected experts in epidemiology and statistics in the journal club meetings improves the satisfaction and the impact of the meetings in the education of students.

Epidemiology is generally defined as the basic science and art of disease prevention and health promotion. Historically, it began with the accounting of death in major epidemics in the Middle Ages. Over the years, it has evolved into the basic science and art of dealing with mass phenomena of disease occurrence and public health. It is now gaining eminence in dealing with all kinds of mass phenomena beyond disease and public health.
Prior to the 1970s when teaching of epidemiology became a distinct training in academia, most epidemiologists were highly experienced practitioners of infectious and parasitic diseases and drew from their vast experiences in suggesting interventions for infectious disease control. With the prominence of non-infectious and chronic diseases, the need for special training with particular emphasis on biostatistics became apparent and has extensively developed to the present state. In Iran, epidemiological practice and training began with the national efforts in combating the main scourges of Malaria, Trachoma, Schistosoma infestation, cholera, and other diseases that impacted the country with high endemicity and regular epidemic outbreaks. This brief paper describes the development of epidemiology training in Iran in more detail.