Kadayam Guruswami Gomathi, Mumtaz Sabiha, Gopakumar Aji, Khan Engila, Abdullah Fatima, Parahoo Sanjai K
Ajman, UAE Department of Biomedical Sciences, Gulf Medical University.
Dubai, UAE University of Wollongong in Dubai.
J Acad Ethics. 2023;21(2):231-249. doi: 10.1007/s10805-022-09452-6. Epub 2022 Jul 5.
A high level of professional integrity is expected from healthcare professionals, and literature suggests a relationship between unethical behavior of healthcare professionals and poor academic integrity behavior at medical school. While academic integrity is well researched in western countries, it is not so in the Middle East, which is characterized by different cultural values that may influence students' academic integrity conduct. We conducted a cross-sectional study among health-professions students at a university in the Middle East to assess perceptual differences on various cheating behaviors, as well as to explore the reasons underlying the cheating behavior. A validated survey instrument disseminated among first and second-year undergraduate students resulted in 211 complete responses and this data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Pearson's Chi-square/ Fischer's exact test was applied to test the association of various factors with academic misconduct. The major determinants of academic misconduct were investigated using Binary Logistic regression model. The conducted analysis and the results showed that preceding cheating behavior was the only factor significantly associated with cheating in the university (p < 0.001). No association was found between cheating behavior and age, college/major, awareness regarding academic integrity, or perception of faculty response. The reasons provided by students for cheating behavior were mainly academic workload and pressure to get a good grade. Various suggestions are made to enhance academic integrity among health-professions students including organizing workshops and events by the university to increase awareness and create an academic integrity culture, providing peer guidance as well as emotional and social support.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10805-022-09452-6.
医疗保健专业人员应具备高度的职业操守，文献表明医疗保健专业人员的不道德行为与医学院校的学术诚信缺失行为之间存在关联。虽然西方国家对学术诚信进行了充分研究，但中东地区并非如此，该地区具有不同的文化价值观，可能会影响学生的学术诚信行为。我们在中东一所大学的健康专业学生中进行了一项横断面研究，以评估对各种作弊行为的认知差异，并探讨作弊行为背后的原因。在一年级和二年级本科生中发放了一份经过验证的调查问卷，共获得211份完整回复，并使用描述性和推断性统计方法对这些数据进行了分析。应用Pearson卡方检验/费舍尔精确检验来检验各种因素与学术不端行为的关联。使用二元逻辑回归模型研究学术不端行为的主要决定因素。所进行的分析和结果表明，之前的作弊行为是与大学作弊行为显著相关的唯一因素（p < 0.001）。未发现作弊行为与年龄、学院/专业、对学术诚信的认知或对教师反应的看法之间存在关联。学生给出的作弊行为原因主要是学业负担和取得好成绩的压力。提出了各种建议以提高健康专业学生的学术诚信，包括大学组织研讨会和活动以提高认识并营造学术诚信文化，提供同伴指导以及情感和社会支持。
在线版本包含可在10.1007/s10805-022-09452-6获取的补充材料。
