Identification of the Place of Developmental Issues in the Educational and Clinical Practices of Pediatric Residents and Affecting Factors

Abstract

Objective: The competence of pediatricians in managing developmental problems depends on the education in this field during their pediatrics residency training. However, even in developed countries, many pediatricians find it difficult to open up and manage developmental issues because of various barriers. In this study it is aimed to evaluate to what extent are developmental issues included in the training and clinical practices of pediatric residents, to identify the barriers encountered, and to develop new strategies in this regard.

Material and Methods: This study was conducted by Developmental Pediatrics between January 1 and March 1, 2020 in a tertiary training hospital. One hundred twenty pediatric residents were given a questionnaire with 10 items, prepared by the study team which included giving place to developmental issues in their clinical practice, the barriers they faced, and related factors.

Results: It was shown that most of the pediatric residents didn’t think they had sufficient information related to child development (86%), didn’t use a developmental screening test (89%), and faced various barriers in early diagnosis and treatment of developmental problems (95%). The time limitation (91%) ranked the first among these obstacles. The frequency of those who reported that they had no information source was 28%. No relationship was found between the duration of residency training and giving place to developmental issues (p = 0.980). While giving place to developmental issues was associated with having information resources (p = 0.001), having information resources was associated with receiving training about child development (p = 0.000).

Conclusion: Giving place to developmental issues was associated with having information resources and resource availability was also associated with receiving education, and many barriers encountered were shown, particularly the time limitation. The health system should be supported with a comprehensive perspective by integrating training about early diagnosis and treatment of developmental problems.

Keywords

• Pediatrics training
• Developmental problems
• Pediatric residents

Gelişimsel Konuların Pediatri Asistanlarının Eğitim ve Klinik Uygulamalarındaki Yeri ve Etkileyen Faktörlerin Belirlenmesi

Abstract

Amaç: Çocuk sağlığı ve hastalıkları uzmanlarının gelişimsel sorunları yönetmedeki yetkinliği, pediatri eğitimi sürecinde, bu alanda alınan eğitime bağlıdır. Ancak gelişmiş ülkelerde dahi çoğu çocuk sağlığı ve hastalıkları uzmanı çeşitli zorluklar nedeni ile gelişimsel konuları açmak ve yönetmekte zorlanmaktadırlar. Bu çalışmada pediatri asistanlarının eğitim ve klinik uygulamalarında gelişimsel konulara ne düzeyde yer verildiğinin değerlendirilmesi, karşılaşılan zorlukların belirlenmesi ve bu konuda yeni stratejilerin önerilmesi amaçlanmıştır.

Gereç ve Yöntemler: Bu çalışma, Gelişimsel Pediatri tarafından 1 Ocak-1 Mart 2020 tarihleri arasında üçüncü basamak bir sağlık merkezinde yürütülmüştür. Çocuk sağlığı ve hastalıkları uzmanlık eğitimi almakta olan 120 pediatri asistanına klinik uygulamalarında gelişimsel konulara yer verme, karşılaştıkları zorluklar ve ilişkili etmenleri içeren, çalışma ekibi tarafından hazırlanmış 10 soruluk bir anket uygulanmıştır.

Bulgular: Çocuk sağlığı ve hastalıkları uzmanlık eğitimi almakta olan asistanların çoğunun çocuk gelişimi ile ilgili yeterli bilgiye sahip olmadığını düşündüğü (%86), gelişimsel bir değerlendirme aracı kullanmadığı (%89) ve gelişimsel sorunların erken tanı ve tedavisinde çeşitli zorluklarla karşılaştıkları (%95) gösterildi. Süre kısıtlılığı (%91) bu zorlukların başında gelmekteydi. Bilgi kaynağının olmadığını belirtenlerin sıklığı %28’di. Asistanlık eğitimindeki süresi ile gelişimsel konulara yer verme arasında bir ilişki bulunmadı (p=0.980). Gelişimsel konulara yer verme kaynak varlığı ile ilişkiliyken, kaynak varlığı da gelişimsel konular hakkında eğitim almakla ilişkiliydi (p<0.05).

Sonuç: Gelişimsel konulara yer vermenin bilgi kaynağı varlığı ile kaynak varlığının da eğitim almakla ilişkili olduğu ve başlıca süre kısıtlılığı olmak üzere karşılaşılan pek çok zorluk gösterilmiştir. Gelişimsel sorunların erken tanı ve tedavisi konusunda sağlık sisteminin bütüncül bakış açısıyla eğitimi entegre ederek desteklemesi gerekmektedir. 

Keywords

• Pediatri eğitimi
• Gelişimsel sorunlar
• Pediatri asistanı

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