Table 1
Respondent demographics and characteristics (n = 517).
| Variable | Prior GHEA (n = 284) | No GHEA (n = 233) | p-value | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, mean ± SD | 27.2 ± 5.0 | 28.0 ± 6.4 | 0.11 | 27.6 ± 5.6 | |
| Gender, n (%) | |||||
| Male | 52 (42.3) | 71 (57.7) | 0.001 | * | 123 (23.8) |
| Female | 232 (58.9) | 162 (41.1) | 394 (76.2) | ||
| School Affiliation, n (%) | |||||
| Medical School | 113 (52.8) | 101 (47.2) | 0.41 | 214 (41.4) | |
| Nursing School | 171 (56.4) | 132 (43.6) | 303 (58.6) | ||
| Annual Household Income, n (%) | |||||
| <$50K | 45 (57.7) | 33 (42.3) | 0.51 | 78 (20.4) | |
| $50K–$99K | 61 (62.2) | 37 (37.8) | 98 (25.6) | ||
| $100K–$149K | 47 (59.5) | 32 (40.5) | 79 (20.6) | ||
| $150K–$199K | 26 (65.0) | 14 (35.0) | 40 (10.4) | ||
| >$200K | 45 (51.1) | 43 (48.9) | 88 (23.0) | ||
| Intended Specialty, n (%)† | |||||
| Medical | 76 (60.8) | 49 (39.2) | 0.051 | 125 (61.9) | |
| Surgical | 36 (46.8) | 41 (53.2) | 77 (38.1) | ||
[i] Abbreviations: Global health experience abroad (GHEA), standard deviation (SD).
Missing data for covariates: income (25.9%), intended specialty (5.6%). Surveys with no data regarding participation in prior GHEAs were excluded.
†M.D. candidates only. “Medical” = emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, medical subspecialties, pediatrics, and psychiatry. “Surgical” = anesthesiology, general surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, and surgical subspecialties.
*p-value < 0.05.
Table 2
Overview of Participants’ GHEAs (n = 284).
| Variable | Total |
|---|---|
| Number of GHEAs, n (%) | |
| 1 | 124 (43.7) |
| ≥2 | 160 (56.3) |
| Type of GHEA, n (%) | |
| Research | 102 (35.9) |
| Service/Clinical | 199 (70.1) |
| Study Abroad | 80 (28.2) |
| International Job | 99 (34.9) |
| Duration of Longest GHEA, n (%) | |
| ≤8wk. | 144 (51.1) |
| >8wk. | 138 (48.9) |
| Pre-departure Training Received, n (%) | |
| No | 152 (53.5) |
| Yes | 132 (46.5) |
| Pre-departure Training Subjects, n (%)† | |
| Safety | 141 (92.8) |
| Health Precautions | 125 (82.2) |
| Ethics | 70 (46.1) |
| Clinical Skills | 38 (25.0) |
| Research | 38 (25.0) |
| Language | 70 (46.1) |
| Culture | 135 (88.8) |
| Leadership | 52 (34.2) |
| Helpfulness of Pre-departure Training, n (%) | |
| Helpful | 120 (78.9) |
| Not Helpful | 32 (21.1) |
[i] †Percentages based on 152 respondents who reported receiving pre-departure training. Sum of percentages exceeds 100% because respondents’ pre-departure training may have covered multiple subjects.
Table 3
Bivariate analysis for likelihood of feeling prepared (n = 152).
| Variable | Crude OR | 95% CI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex | |||
| Male | Ref | ||
| Female | 1.32 | 0.50–3.48 | |
| Age | |||
| <27 | Ref | ||
| >27 | 1.44 | 0.69–2.96 | |
| Income | |||
| <$100,000/yr. | Ref | ||
| >$100,000/yr. | 1.16 | 0.38–3.55 | |
| Intended Specialty† | |||
| Medical | Ref | ||
| Surgical | 0.74 | 0.22–2.54 | |
| Number of Global Health Experiences Abroad | |||
| 1 | Ref | ||
| ≥2 | 1.26 | 0.58–2.71 | |
| Current Degree Program | |||
| Medicine | Ref | ||
| Nursing | 2.41 | * | 1.10–5.27 |
| Do You Feel PDT Was Helpful? | |||
| No | Ref | ||
| Yes | 8.91 | * | 3.67–21.63 |
| PDT Topics Received | |||
| Safety | 6.00 | * | 1.58–22.71 |
| Health Precautions | 2.79 | * | 1.15–6.74 |
| Ethics | 1.10 | 0.51–2.38 | |
| Clinical Skills | 4.28 | * | 1.23–14.96 |
| Research | 0.73 | 0.31–1.71 | |
| Language | 1.46 | 0.67–3.18 | |
| Culture | 6.49 | * | 2.24–18.77 |
| Leadership | 3.07 | * | 1.18–7.99 |
[i] Abbreviation: Pre-departure training (PDT).
*p-value < 0.05.
†M.D. candidates only.
Table 4
Multivariate analysis for likelihood of feeling prepared (n = 152).
| Variable | Adjusted OR | 95% CI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current Degree Program | |||
| Medicine | Ref | ||
| Nursing | 0.12 | 0.82–5.37 | |
| If PDT Received, Do You Feel It Was Helpful? | |||
| No | Ref | ||
| Yes | 12.37 | * | 4.44–34.68 |
| Inclusion of Culture, Safety, Clinical Skills, Leadership, and/or Health Precautions in PDT | |||
| No | Ref | ||
| Yes | 8.47 | * | 2.21–32.52 |
[i] Abbreviation: Pre-departure training (PDT).
*p-value < 0.05.
Figure 1
Pre-departure training topics that students preferred along with the preferred mode of instruction. The percentage of respondents that believed each pre-departure training topic as being important is represented by the people and the preference for a particular mode of instruction is represented by the balloons.