Socio-demographic profile of medical students in Aotearoa, New Zealand (2016–2020): a nationwide cross-sectional study
Objective To determine the socio-demographic profile of all students enrolled to study medicine in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ).Design and setting Observational, cross-sectional study. Data were sought from the Universities of Auckland and Otago, the two NZ tertiary education institutions providing med...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMJ Publishing Group
2023-12-01
|
| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/12/e073996.full |
| _version_ | 1797370897828413440 |
|---|---|
| author | Warwick Bagg Jonathan Williman Bridget Kool Peter Crampton Elana Curtis Garry Nixon Chris Hendry Susan Shaw Zoe Bristowe Paul Brunton Damian Scarf Collin Tukuitonga Denise Wilson Kyle S Eggleton |
| author_facet | Warwick Bagg Jonathan Williman Bridget Kool Peter Crampton Elana Curtis Garry Nixon Chris Hendry Susan Shaw Zoe Bristowe Paul Brunton Damian Scarf Collin Tukuitonga Denise Wilson Kyle S Eggleton |
| author_sort | Warwick Bagg |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective To determine the socio-demographic profile of all students enrolled to study medicine in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ).Design and setting Observational, cross-sectional study. Data were sought from the Universities of Auckland and Otago, the two NZ tertiary education institutions providing medical education, for the period 2016–2020 inclusive. These data are a subset of the larger project ‘Mirror on Society’ examining all regulated health professional enrolled students in NZ. Variables of interest: gender, citizenship, ethnicity, rural classification, socioeconomic deprivation, school type and school socioeconomic scores. NZ denominator population data (18–29 years) were sourced from the 2018 census.Participants 2858 students were enrolled to study medicine between 2016 and 2020 inclusive.Results There were more women (59.1%) enrolled to study medicine than men (40.9%) and the majority (96.5%) were in the 18–29 years age range. Māori students (rate ratio 0.92; 95% CI 0.84 to 1.0) and Pacific students (rate ratio 0.85; 95% CI 0.73 to 0.98) had lower overall rates of enrolment. For all ethnic groups, irrespective of rural or urban origin, enrolment rates had a nearly log-linear negative relationship with increasing socioeconomic deprivation. Enrolments were lower for students from rural areas compared with those from urban areas (rate ratio 0.53; 95% CI 0.46–0.61). Overall NZ’s medical students do not reflect the diverse communities they will serve, with under-representation of Māori and Pacific students and students who come from low socioeconomic and rural backgrounds.Conclusions To meaningfully address these issues, we suggest the following policy changes: universities commit and act to Indigenise institutional ways of knowing and being; selection policies are reviewed to ensure that communities in greatest need of doctors are prioritised for enrolment into medicine (specifically, the impact of low socioeconomic status should be factored into selection decisions); and the government fund more New Zealanders to study medicine. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T18:10:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d7aa6da1e44244ee8eaeed5ccc954c07 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T18:10:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-d7aa6da1e44244ee8eaeed5ccc954c072024-01-01T08:20:08ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552023-12-01131210.1136/bmjopen-2023-073996Socio-demographic profile of medical students in Aotearoa, New Zealand (2016–2020): a nationwide cross-sectional studyWarwick Bagg0Jonathan Williman1Bridget Kool2Peter Crampton3Elana Curtis4Garry Nixon5Chris Hendry6Susan Shaw7Zoe Bristowe8Paul Brunton9Damian Scarf10Collin Tukuitonga11Denise Wilson12Kyle S Eggleton13Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New ZealandPublic Health and General Practice, Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Christchurch, New ZealandEpidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland, New ZealandKōhatu, Centre for Hauora Māori, University of Otago, Dunedin, New ZealandTe Kupenga Hauora Māori, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New ZealandGeneral Practice and Rural Health, University of Otago, Dunedin, New ZealandCentre for Postgraduate Nursing, University of Otago Christchurch, Christchurch, New ZealandFaculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New ZealandKōhatu, Centre for Hauora Māori, University of Otago, Dunedin, New ZealandFaculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New ZealandPsychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New ZealandFaculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New ZealandFaculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New ZealandDepartment of General Practice and Primary Health Care, Faculty of Medical and Health Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New ZealandObjective To determine the socio-demographic profile of all students enrolled to study medicine in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ).Design and setting Observational, cross-sectional study. Data were sought from the Universities of Auckland and Otago, the two NZ tertiary education institutions providing medical education, for the period 2016–2020 inclusive. These data are a subset of the larger project ‘Mirror on Society’ examining all regulated health professional enrolled students in NZ. Variables of interest: gender, citizenship, ethnicity, rural classification, socioeconomic deprivation, school type and school socioeconomic scores. NZ denominator population data (18–29 years) were sourced from the 2018 census.Participants 2858 students were enrolled to study medicine between 2016 and 2020 inclusive.Results There were more women (59.1%) enrolled to study medicine than men (40.9%) and the majority (96.5%) were in the 18–29 years age range. Māori students (rate ratio 0.92; 95% CI 0.84 to 1.0) and Pacific students (rate ratio 0.85; 95% CI 0.73 to 0.98) had lower overall rates of enrolment. For all ethnic groups, irrespective of rural or urban origin, enrolment rates had a nearly log-linear negative relationship with increasing socioeconomic deprivation. Enrolments were lower for students from rural areas compared with those from urban areas (rate ratio 0.53; 95% CI 0.46–0.61). Overall NZ’s medical students do not reflect the diverse communities they will serve, with under-representation of Māori and Pacific students and students who come from low socioeconomic and rural backgrounds.Conclusions To meaningfully address these issues, we suggest the following policy changes: universities commit and act to Indigenise institutional ways of knowing and being; selection policies are reviewed to ensure that communities in greatest need of doctors are prioritised for enrolment into medicine (specifically, the impact of low socioeconomic status should be factored into selection decisions); and the government fund more New Zealanders to study medicine.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/12/e073996.full |
| spellingShingle | Warwick Bagg Jonathan Williman Bridget Kool Peter Crampton Elana Curtis Garry Nixon Chris Hendry Susan Shaw Zoe Bristowe Paul Brunton Damian Scarf Collin Tukuitonga Denise Wilson Kyle S Eggleton Socio-demographic profile of medical students in Aotearoa, New Zealand (2016–2020): a nationwide cross-sectional study BMJ Open |
| title | Socio-demographic profile of medical students in Aotearoa, New Zealand (2016–2020): a nationwide cross-sectional study |
| title_full | Socio-demographic profile of medical students in Aotearoa, New Zealand (2016–2020): a nationwide cross-sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Socio-demographic profile of medical students in Aotearoa, New Zealand (2016–2020): a nationwide cross-sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Socio-demographic profile of medical students in Aotearoa, New Zealand (2016–2020): a nationwide cross-sectional study |
| title_short | Socio-demographic profile of medical students in Aotearoa, New Zealand (2016–2020): a nationwide cross-sectional study |
| title_sort | socio demographic profile of medical students in aotearoa new zealand 2016 2020 a nationwide cross sectional study |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/12/e073996.full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT warwickbagg sociodemographicprofileofmedicalstudentsinaotearoanewzealand20162020anationwidecrosssectionalstudy AT jonathanwilliman sociodemographicprofileofmedicalstudentsinaotearoanewzealand20162020anationwidecrosssectionalstudy AT bridgetkool sociodemographicprofileofmedicalstudentsinaotearoanewzealand20162020anationwidecrosssectionalstudy AT petercrampton sociodemographicprofileofmedicalstudentsinaotearoanewzealand20162020anationwidecrosssectionalstudy AT elanacurtis sociodemographicprofileofmedicalstudentsinaotearoanewzealand20162020anationwidecrosssectionalstudy AT garrynixon sociodemographicprofileofmedicalstudentsinaotearoanewzealand20162020anationwidecrosssectionalstudy AT chrishendry sociodemographicprofileofmedicalstudentsinaotearoanewzealand20162020anationwidecrosssectionalstudy AT susanshaw sociodemographicprofileofmedicalstudentsinaotearoanewzealand20162020anationwidecrosssectionalstudy AT zoebristowe sociodemographicprofileofmedicalstudentsinaotearoanewzealand20162020anationwidecrosssectionalstudy AT paulbrunton sociodemographicprofileofmedicalstudentsinaotearoanewzealand20162020anationwidecrosssectionalstudy AT damianscarf sociodemographicprofileofmedicalstudentsinaotearoanewzealand20162020anationwidecrosssectionalstudy AT collintukuitonga sociodemographicprofileofmedicalstudentsinaotearoanewzealand20162020anationwidecrosssectionalstudy AT denisewilson sociodemographicprofileofmedicalstudentsinaotearoanewzealand20162020anationwidecrosssectionalstudy AT kyleseggleton sociodemographicprofileofmedicalstudentsinaotearoanewzealand20162020anationwidecrosssectionalstudy |