Participation involved a four-hour educational session followed by immediate and delayed encounters with standardized patients. Surveys assessed students’ knowledge, attitudes and preferred decision-making styles, while researchers analyzed standardized-patient encounters quantitatively with the OPTION scale and qualitatively through reflexive thematic analysis. Enrolled students were in their first year of medical school and were followed as a longitudinal open cohort from 2023 to 2024.

The targeted class size was 60 students per year, with 17 unique standardized patients and four faculty members taking part across simulation iterations. The cohort design allowed the investigators to examine how students developed over time, although the educational study was limited to preclinical learners in the participating program. Students began with high baseline knowledge of shared decision-making, and average post-session knowledge scores differed only minimally from those recorded beforehand.

Attitudes also remained generally positive. Within those attitudes, most students said that successful implementation depends on patients having confidence and receiving education. The survey results therefore point to a relatively stable conceptual understanding and broadly favorable views rather than major changes following the session.

The standardized-patient assessments provided a more detailed picture of practical performance. Researchers conducted true within-subject longitudinal analyses by following individual students and repeating their assessments over time. Compared with baseline encounters, students demonstrated improvements in two specific areas: exploring patients’ expectations and concerns, and explaining the advantages and disadvantages of different options.

Most other core interviewing and shared decision-making behaviors showed little difference between assessment points. Qualitative analysis of the encounters identified three recurring themes. The first concerned the importance of building rapport.

The second distinguished communication from true collaboration. The third captured variation in students’ ability to convey information in patient-centered terms. Together, these themes show that the simulation exercises did not represent a uniform progression toward effective shared decision-making; students displayed improvement in some observable skills while other aspects of their encounters remained limited.

The study also differed in the strength of evidence available for its components. The initial knowledge survey was anonymous, preventing investigators from matching each student’s pretest responses to the same student’s posttest responses. Knowledge and attitude changes were therefore assessed through an independent-groups comparison.

By contrast, the simulation component used repeated within-subject assessments, allowing direct longitudinal comparisons of students’ performance in standardized-patient encounters. These distinctions limit what can be concluded from the results. The knowledge and attitude findings should not be described as changes within the same students, while the simulation findings concern measured behaviors in a defined educational setting rather than clinical practice.

Its clearest reported result is a selective improvement in two shared decision-making behaviors during standardized-patient encounters, alongside limited change in knowledge and attitudes and little change in the remaining assessed skills. The authors concluded that preclinical learners generally possessed a strong conceptual understanding of shared decision-making but would benefit from more opportunities to practice and apply it. This interpretation is consistent with the observed pattern: a brief educational intervention accompanied by immediate and delayed simulation encounters was associated with stronger performance in eliciting concerns and explaining option trade-offs, but not with broad improvement across every measured outcome.

The study identifies a focused instructional challenge for medical educators—supporting repeated application of shared decision-making skills—without establishing a universal effect for simulation-based training or a direct change in patient-centered care delivered in clinical settings.

Subject of Research: Longitudinal evaluation of shared decision-making education and simulation skills among first-year medical students

Article Title: Shared decision-making: longitudinal changes in medical student knowledge, attitudes, and skills following an educational intervention

Article References: Chavez, S., De La Roche, L., Elder, W., Gullion, K., Xu, T., & Grissom, M. (2026). Shared decision-making: longitudinal changes in medical student knowledge, attitudes, and skills following an educational intervention. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10619-7

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12909-026-10619-7

Keywords: medical education, shared decision-making, medical students, standardized patients, simulation training, knowledge assessment, attitudes, clinical skills, mixed-methods research, patient engagement, Shared, decision-making

The finding challenges a long-standing “no-death paradigm” in medical simulation, under which scenario designers have generally avoided allowing a simulated patient to die because fatal outcomes are thought to distract learners or undermine psychological safety. The authors noted that this approach rests largely on expert opinion and evidence involving novice learners, leaving little empirical information about students approaching independent clinical practice. In the sessions examined for this study, however, patient death was possible but not scripted: whether it occurred depended on the simulated clinical course and the decisions made by participants. The researchers did not record whether any respondent actually witnessed a death, so the results demonstrate acceptance of the possibility rather than students’ reactions to an experienced death.

Agreement remained above 90% in every academic year, including the cohorts recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the study found no evidence of differences by sex: 91.5% of female participants and 93.8% of male participants agreed. There were also no detected differences across age groups. Cohort and sex comparisons were evaluated with non-parametric tests, and the researchers reported agreement proportions with 95% Wilson confidence intervals. These results indicate a consistently positive attitude toward potentially fatal simulation scenarios among the students surveyed, although the repeated cross-sectional design means that each cohort was measured at one point rather than tracking changes within individual students over time.

For simulation educators, the findings suggest that the possibility of death may be considered for final-year students nearing independent practice, provided that scenarios are carefully designed and accompanied by structured debriefing. The authors were explicit that their evidence concerns attitudes, not educational outcomes: a single attitudinal item cannot establish whether an experienced simulated death improves learning, clinical judgment, psychological safety or performance. Nor does the observational design show that exposure to fatal scenarios causes better or worse training outcomes. Further study would need to distinguish acceptance in advance from students’ responses after witnessing a death and to test whether the educational effects justify including such scenarios. The evidence nevertheless offers an empirical counterpoint to the assumption that all medical students reject simulated death, showing broad acceptance across eight years at one Spanish faculty.

Subject of Research: Medical students’ attitudes toward the possibility of patient death in high-fidelity clinical simulation.

Article Title: Acceptance of the possibility of simulated patient death among final-year medical students: a repeated cross-sectional study across eight consecutive cohorts

Article References: Dueñas-Ruiz, J., Rodrigues, L., Castro-Portillo, E., Sanz-García, A., Martín-Conty, J. L., Polonio-López, B., Castro-Villamor, M. Á., & Martín-Rodríguez, F. (2026). Acceptance of the possibility of simulated patient death among final-year medical students: a repeated cross-sectional study across eight consecutive cohorts. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10104-1

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DOI: 10.1186/s12909-026-10104-1

Keywords: medical simulation, patient death, medical education, high-fidelity simulation, final-year students, clinical training, attitudes, COVID-19 cohorts, debriefing, Spain, Acceptance, possibility

The finding comes from a cross-sectional, survey-weighted analysis of the Active Lives Children and Young People Survey 2023–2024. The participants were in school Years 7–11, corresponding to approximately ages 11 to 16. Because the study measured activity and wellbeing at the same time, its results show an association rather than establishing which came first or whether changing attitudes would improve life satisfaction.

Researchers examined five physical literacy-related attitudes: enjoyment of physical activity, confidence in participating, perceived ease of participation, understanding of its benefits, and knowledge of how to participate and improve. The primary measure counted how many of these five statements an adolescent strongly endorsed. The analysis therefore captured psychological appraisals of physical activity alongside its frequency, rather than treating activity volume as the sole indicator of an adolescent’s experience.

Physical activity itself was represented by an official survey-derived, four-category measure based on moderate-to-vigorous activity during the previous week. In the fully adjusted model, activity category had a small overall association with life satisfaction, with an F statistic of 6.42 and a p-value of 0.0003. However, the adjusted estimates were not monotonic, meaning that life-satisfaction scores did not rise consistently from lower to higher activity categories.

Relative to participants reporting less than 30 minutes of activity per day, those recording at least 60 minutes daily had an adjusted life-satisfaction coefficient of −0.111, with a 95% confidence interval of −0.200 to −0.022. The other two activity contrasts were not statistically significant. These findings do not show that greater activity is generally associated with lower wellbeing; they show that the cross-sectional relationship was small, varied across categories and did not follow a simple dose-response pattern.

The researchers also tested whether physical activity modified the relationship between physical literacy-related attitudes and life satisfaction. That interaction was not statistically significant, with an F statistic of 1.88 and a p-value of 0.132. In other words, the available evidence did not indicate that the association between attitudes and life satisfaction clearly differed according to adolescents’ activity category.

Models adjusted for gender, school year group, ethnicity, disability or a limiting condition, and family affluence measured with the standard 2023–2024 Family Affluence Scale. Life satisfaction was self-reported on a scale from 0 to 10. The large sample and use of survey weights allowed the analysis to account for features of the survey design, although the observational design still limits conclusions about causation.

Taken together, the results suggest that adolescents’ feelings about physical activity may deserve attention when researchers consider wellbeing, not simply the number of minutes they spend moving. The clearest result was the positive association between strongly endorsed physical literacy-related attitudes and life satisfaction. Establishing whether those attitudes influence wellbeing over time—and whether changing them produces benefits—would require longitudinal and intervention studies.

Subject of Research: Associations between physical activity, physical literacy attitudes and life satisfaction among English adolescents

Article Title: Physical activity, physical literacy-related attitudes, and life satisfaction among adolescents in England: a survey-weighted analysis

Article References: Zhao, Y., & Wang, Y. (2026). Physical activity, physical literacy-related attitudes, and life satisfaction among adolescents in England: a survey-weighted analysis. BMC Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05819-1

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DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05819-1

Keywords: adolescent wellbeing, physical activity, life satisfaction, physical literacy, cross-sectional study, survey weighting, England, school adolescents, Physical, activity, literacy-related, attitudes

The survey was conducted between February and May 2026 among undergraduates in medicine, dentistry, nursing and applied medical sciences at five universities in Riyadh. Participants had a mean age of 21.78 ± 3.73 years; 352, or 77.1%, were female and 104, or 22.9%, were male. Medicine was the largest professional group, contributing 280 participants, followed by applied medical sciences with 100, nursing with 53 and dentistry with 23. Recruitment into the university groups was also uneven: University A supplied 201 respondents, University B 90, University C 74, University D 63 and University E 28. The final dataset contained no missing observations, and all 456 students were included in the analyses.

Researchers used a 32-item questionnaire adapted from a previously validated instrument for health workers. A panel of five specialists in oral medicine, oral pathology and dental public health reviewed the questions for relevance, clarity and cultural appropriateness in Saudi Arabia. The panel removed 22 of the original 54 items, including questions about alcohol use, betel-quid or areca-nut chewing and practices not routinely performed by Saudi healthcare students. The adapted questionnaire achieved a scale-level content validity index of 0.94. A pilot study with 40 students, excluded from the main analysis, produced an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.82, while internal consistency was 0.74 for awareness, 0.72 for attitudes and 0.77 for practice.

Because eight of the 12 knowledge questions allowed multiple answers, the researchers did not construct a conventional total knowledge score. Instead, they used two-step cluster analysis on 27 categorical variables covering risk factors, oral changes, lesion recognition and treatment-related responses. This method separated 195 students into a higher-knowledge cluster and 261 into a lower-knowledge cluster. The higher cluster was much more likely to identify leukoplakia, tobacco use and non-healing ulcers: 82.1% recognized leukoplakia, 94.4% identified tobacco use and 67.2% recognized non-healing ulcers. In the lower cluster, the corresponding proportions were 13.0%, 58.2% and 30.3%.

Dental students had substantially stronger results: 18 of 23, or 78.3%, fell into the higher-knowledge cluster, compared with 143 of 280 medical students, or 51.1%; 21 of 100 applied medical sciences students, or 21.0%; and 13 of 53 nursing students, or 24.5%. In multivariable binary logistic regression, dental students had 12.67 times the odds of belonging to the higher-knowledge cluster than applied medical sciences students, with a 95% confidence interval of 4.17 to 38.40 and p < 0.001. The wide interval signals considerable imprecision, however, and medical students also had higher odds than applied sciences students, at 3.77 with a 95% confidence interval of 2.19 to 6.49 and p < 0.001. Nursing did not differ significantly from applied sciences, and age was not a significant independent predictor.

Awareness also varied by professional stream, with a p-value of 0.006. Fifteen dental students, or 65.2%, were classified as having high awareness, compared with 29.3% of medical students, 32.0% of applied sciences students and 32.1% of nursing students. In regression analysis, however, the dental difference from applied sciences narrowly missed the conventional threshold for statistical significance, producing an odds ratio of 2.68, a 95% confidence interval of 0.99 to 7.23 and p = 0.052. Knowledge was more clearly associated with awareness: students in the higher-knowledge cluster had 2.07 times the odds of high awareness than those in the lower cluster, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.35 to 3.19 and p = 0.001.

Attitudes and reported practices showed parallel variation. Positive attitudes toward oral cancer examination, screening and education were recorded for 52.2% of dental students, 24.5% of nursing students, 17.0% of applied sciences students and 13.6% of medical students; the association with professional stream was significant at p < 0.001. Dental students also had 3.54 times the odds of a positive attitude than applied sciences students, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.23 to 10.17 and p = 0.019. University D had higher odds of a positive attitude than University E, although the study did not model possible within-university correlation fully. The knowledge cluster itself was not independently associated with positive attitude after adjustment, with an odds ratio of 1.66, a 95% confidence interval of 0.96 to 2.87 and p = 0.070.

Good clinical practice was reported by 65.2% of dental students, 26.4% of nursing students, 19.0% of applied sciences students and 16.4% of medical students. High awareness was associated with 3.53 times the odds of good practice, while a positive attitude was associated with 5.10 times the odds; both confidence intervals excluded 1 and both p-values were below 0.001. Dental students also had 4.40 times the odds of good practice compared with applied sciences students, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.44 to 13.43 and p = 0.009. Medical and nursing students did not differ significantly from applied sciences in the adjusted model. Notably, the higher-knowledge cluster itself was not independently associated with good practice, with p = 0.374, indicating that greater factual knowledge alone was not fully aligned with reported clinical behavior.

Knowledge did not differ significantly among the five universities, with p = 0.057. That borderline result should not be read as evidence that the institutions were equivalent, particularly because institutional sample sizes ranged from 28 to 201 and potential clustering within universities was not formally modeled. Differences in curriculum, academic stage, prior training and clinical exposure were also not measured, so the study cannot establish that professional discipline itself caused the observed variations. Its cross-sectional design, voluntary online convenience sampling and self-reported answers further limit causal interpretation and generalizability. Without a complete sampling frame or denominator of eligible students, the researchers could not calculate a reliable response rate or assess nonresponse bias. Selection of students with greater interest in oral health may also have produced more favorable results than those found in the wider Riyadh student population.

The results point toward interdisciplinary education that combines recognition of oral potentially malignant disorders with practical examination, counseling and referral training. Students across medicine, nursing and applied medical sciences may encounter oral lesions during routine care, yet the survey indicates that knowledge alone does not reliably predict favorable attitudes or practices. The authors therefore recommend clinically oriented oral cancer instruction, interprofessional collaboration and opportunities to apply knowledge in realistic settings. They also call for larger, representative multicenter studies using probability-based recruitment, balanced participation across professions and institutions, objective assessments of clinical performance and statistical methods that account for institutional clustering. Until such evidence is available, the dental advantage and the size of the broader educational gaps should be treated as preliminary rather than definitive.

Subject of Research: Knowledge and clinical readiness concerning oral potentially malignant disorders and oral cancer among health professional students in Riyadh

Article Title: Knowledge, awareness, attitudes and practice regarding oral potentially malignant disorders and oral cancer among health professional students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a multicenter cross-sectional study

Article References: Khanagar, S. B., Alofi, A., Alzaaqi, L. A., Alsubaie, J. M., Alayed, D., Abothnin, S. M., Almuammar, A. A., Alfaifi, A., & Iyer, K. (2026). Knowledge, awareness, attitudes and practice regarding oral potentially malignant disorders and oral cancer among health professional students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a multicenter cross-sectional study. Frontiers in Oral Health, 7, Article 1942387. https://doi.org/10.3389/froh.2026.1942387

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DOI: 10.3389/froh.2026.1942387

Keywords: oral cancer, oral potentially malignant disorders, health professional education, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, dental students, medical students, early detection, cross-sectional study, Knowledge, awareness, attitudes

The results identify a pronounced gap between support for male vaccination and personal vaccination practice in the studied population. Researchers surveyed young male healthcare professionals and students from diverse backgrounds working in public and private healthcare settings across Delhi NCR between March 2022 and April 2023. The quantitative arm used convenience sampling and included 299 complete responses, while the qualitative arm consisted of interviews with 37 participants.

Quantitative responses were analyzed with descriptive statistics in SPSS version 30.0. For the interviews, the researchers manually transcribed the data and used a Grounded Theory Approach to identify themes. The study examined knowledge, attitudes and practices related to HPV vaccination, with the interviews exploring participants’ perceptions of HPV infection and vaccination.

Participants in the quantitative arm had a mean age of 24.6 years. Their relatively high attitude score, compared with their knowledge score, suggests that support for HPV vaccination was more widespread than detailed understanding of the subject. The contrast was especially apparent when researchers compared willingness to promote vaccination with vaccination uptake: more than eight in ten participants supported promoting HPV vaccination among Indian men, but roughly one in nine reported being vaccinated.

The study also found that engagement in unsafe sexual practices was significantly associated with age (p = 0.006), occupation (p = 0.004), education (p less than 0.001) and marital status (p = 0.003). These were statistical associations within the survey, not evidence that any listed characteristic caused the reported practices. Marital status was also significantly associated with willingness to engage in HPV-related awareness activities within personal networks (p less than 0.001).

The 37 interviewees had a mean age of 32.4 years, with a standard deviation of 6.2 years. Four themes emerged from the thematic analysis: HPV being seen as a female-specific issue, awareness not translating into action, systemic silence and missed opportunities, and cost-consciousness despite awareness. In the qualitative sample, 27% of interviewees held misconceptions about HPV, 18.9% felt there was a lack of a male-focused HPV vaccination drive, and 29.7% expressed affordability concerns because of the high vaccine cost.

These findings offer accounts of the gap observed in the survey. The authors concluded that the findings provide a foundation for larger studies of the barriers and facilitators to HPV vaccination among male healthcare professionals. They called for comprehensive educational, institutional and policy interventions to improve uptake and support equitable implementation of gender-neutral HPV vaccination.

Within that scope, the study documents a clear mismatch between willingness to promote male HPV vaccination and reported uptake, while identifying misconceptions, missed opportunities and cost concerns as issues that may merit further investigation.

Subject of Research: Knowledge, attitudes and vaccination practices among male healthcare professionals and students in Delhi NCR

Article Title: Assessing knowledge, attitudes and practices towards HPV vaccination among male healthcare professionals and students in Delhi National Capital Region: a mixed-method study

Article References: Kaur, K. N., Nandi, D., Chandrasekaran, S., Joseph, A., & Saeed, S. (2026). Assessing knowledge, attitudes and practices towards HPV vaccination among male healthcare professionals and students in Delhi National Capital Region: a mixed-method study. BMC Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-28719-w

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12889-026-28719-w

Keywords: HPV vaccination, male health, Delhi NCR, healthcare professionals, vaccine uptake, mixed-method study, public health, India, Assessing, knowledge, attitudes, practices

The survey was conducted in March 2025 using convenience sampling and a self-designed questionnaire. Investigators used latent profile analysis to identify distinct profiles among participating nurses. Univariate analysis and binary logistic regression were then used to examine factors associated with membership in the two profiles.

The median scores were 35 points for knowledge, with an interquartile range of 29 to 39; 24 points for attitudes, with an interquartile range of 22 to 28; and 11 points for practices, with an interquartile range of 8 to 14. Regression analysis found that the number of years worked, experience caring for patients with severe pneumonia who developed delirium, and previous training related to cognitive impairment were associated with profile membership, with all reported p-values below 0.01. These statistical associations do not establish that the factors caused the profiles or demonstrate changes in knowledge, attitudes or practices.

The authors concluded that the presence of a lower-profile group representing more than one-third of respondents indicates a need for targeted professional training and standardized cognitive assessment and management procedures. The findings are based on a cross-sectional, convenience-sampled questionnaire study, so they cannot establish temporal relationships or causal effects and may not represent all ICU nurses in China or other settings. In addition, the supplied source is an abstract of an early open-access article marked for later replacement by the final version, limiting assessment of the full methods and results.

Subject of Research: Latent profiles of ICU nurses’ knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding post-delirium cognitive impairment in severe pneumonia

Article Title: ICU nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding post-delirium cognitive impairment in patients with severe pneumonia: a latent profile analysis

Article References: Luo, Y., Deng, X., Liu, C., Zhang, W., & Mi, J. (2026). ICU nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding post-delirium cognitive impairment in patients with severe pneumonia: a latent profile analysis. BMC Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-05315-2

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DOI: 10.1186/s12912-026-05315-2

Keywords: ICU nurses, severe pneumonia, post-delirium cognitive impairment, knowledge, attitudes, practices, latent profile analysis, cross-sectional survey, China, professional training, nurses, regarding

Participants were recruited from pediatrics, neonatology and radiology departments, reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of care for premature infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia. The study collected demographic information and questionnaire responses on knowledge and attitudes toward the condition. The analysis included 233 valid questionnaires completed by physicians, nurses and medical technicians; 134 participants, or 57.51%, were female. The research was not a clinical trial, and the supplied abstract does not describe any intervention or comparison of clinical outcomes.

Multivariable logistic regression identified several factors independently associated with adequate knowledge. Male participants had higher odds of demonstrating adequate knowledge than female participants (odds ratio [OR] 2.014, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.097–3.699; P = 0.024). Compared with participants whose highest qualification was an associate degree or below, those with a bachelor’s degree had lower odds of adequate knowledge (OR 0.238, 95% CI 0.060–0.938; P = 0.040), as did those with a master’s degree or higher (OR 0.176, 95% CI 0.040–0.768; P = 0.021). Knowledge score was independently associated with a positive attitude (OR 1.149, 95% CI 1.085–1.218; P < 0.001). These regression estimates describe associations in the surveyed population and do not establish that demographic characteristics or knowledge caused the reported attitudes.

Similar patterns were observed in an analysis restricted to physicians, according to the abstract. The full methodological and statistical details needed to evaluate that subgroup, including its sample size and uncertainty estimates, are not provided in the supplied material, so the physician-only results should be interpreted cautiously. More broadly, the questionnaire design and multivariable regression do not establish causal effects, and the abstract does not report the setting, recruitment dates or measures of response rate. The findings therefore describe knowledge and attitudes among the included professionals rather than their influence on the assessment or management of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Subject of Research: Healthcare professionals’ knowledge of and attitudes toward bronchopulmonary dysplasia in premature infants

Article Title: Knowledge, attitudes, and associated factors toward bronchopulmonary dysplasia in premature infants among healthcare professionals

Article References: Huang, H., Li, J., Lu, T., & Chen, W. (2026). Knowledge, attitudes, and associated factors toward bronchopulmonary dysplasia in premature infants among healthcare professionals. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10463-9

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DOI: 10.1186/s12909-026-10463-9

Keywords: bronchopulmonary dysplasia, premature infants, healthcare professionals, medical knowledge, attitudes, questionnaire survey, multivariable logistic regression, neonatology, pediatrics, radiology, Knowledge, associated

The researchers examined whether personality development mediated relationships between four features of the boarding environment and students’ attitudes. The four features were peer interaction, independence, decision-making and separation from parental care. The analysis used social identity theory and Identity Process Theory, with the latter focusing on continuity, distinctiveness, self-esteem and efficacy as principles relevant to students’ adaptation to a changed social environment.

Students were recruited through stratified random sampling from secondary schools in Osun, Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states. The target population was reported as approximately 130,000 boarding students in the region, and 398 participants were invited using a sample-size calculation. The final analyzed sample comprised 310 students: 167 male students, reported as 53.0%, and 143 female students, reported as 46.1%. The article contains inconsistent age ranges, but it states that 127 respondents were aged 7 to 15 and 183 were aged 16 to 24.

Data were collected face to face with a structured questionnaire containing demographic questions and five-point Likert-scale items. The instrument was reviewed by lecturers at the authors’ institution and piloted with about 50 respondents. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the study’s validity checks, with average variances extracted above 0.5 and composite-reliability coefficients above 0.7. However, the authors reported a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of 0.55, which they considered close to the borderline and a sign that the correlation patterns were relatively weak and the sample may not have been fully adequate for robust results.

The researchers used descriptive statistics, one-sample t-tests and structural equation modelling, including path diagrams for direct and indirect effects. The reported equation-level goodness-of-fit measure was 0.9787, while the root mean square error was described as sufficiently close to zero. Wald and likelihood-ratio tests indicated that the fitted model was consistent with the data. These statistics assess model fit, but they do not demonstrate that boarding routines caused changes in personality or attitudes.

In the detailed path analysis, peer interaction, independence and decision-making had positive, statistically significant associations with personality development. Separation from parental care had a negative but statistically insignificant association with personality development. The article’s abstract separately reported that peer interaction, independence, decision-making and separation from parental care each had positive, statistically significant associations with students’ attitudes. The model also reported a negative, statistically significant association between personality development and attitudes, as well as a negative direct association between peer interaction and attitudes.

The mediation analysis produced mixed results rather than a single uniform pattern. Peer interaction, independence and decision-making had negative indirect-effect coefficients that the authors described as statistically significant, whereas the positive indirect coefficient for separation from parental care was not significant. The authors stated that personality development partially mediated the peer-interaction relationship with attitudes. They also described changes in the independence and decision-making paths after mediation as moderation, although the cross-sectional path model does not demonstrate causal moderation or a temporal sequence.

Based on the fitted model, the authors proposed that peer interaction, independence, decision-making and separation from parental care had direct associations with students’ attitudes, while peer interaction, independence and decision-making also had indirect associations through personality development. They interpreted the results in relation to identity disruption and the potentially influential role of peer groups during adolescence. These interpretations remain theoretical because the survey collected students’ perceptions at one point in time and did not measure personality development before the boarding experience or follow changes in the same students over time.

The study’s geographic scope was limited to boarding students in Southwest Nigeria, and its relatively small sample relative to the number invited limits broader generalization. The authors also called for studies in other regions, data triangulation through participant observation and further testing of additional moderators. Their practical proposals included providing professional guidance counsellors, monitoring peer interactions and developing extracurricular opportunities intended to strengthen peer learning, independence and decision-making. These were policy and management implications proposed by the authors, not interventions evaluated by the study.

Subject of Research: Cross-sectional study of boarding-school routines, personality development and student attitudes in Nigeria

Article Title: Boarding system and the attitudes of secondary school students: the mediation of personality development

Article References: Inegbedion, E., & Inegbedion, H. (2026). Boarding system and the attitudes of secondary school students: the mediation of personality development. Discover Education, 5(1), Article 932. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-026-01614-7

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DOI: 10.1007/s44217-026-01614-7

Keywords: boarding education, secondary students, personality development, student attitudes, peer interaction, social identity, structural equation modelling, cross-sectional survey, Nigeria, Boarding, system, attitudes

Each participant completed structured questionnaires covering end-of-life care preferences, general views of advance care planning and item-level attitudes. Group differences were examined descriptively and with matched-pair tests, while agreement between partners across 15 attitudes was assessed using quadratic weighted kappa. As a cross-sectional study, the work measured differences between paired participants at one point; it did not test an intervention or establish whether advance care planning improves clinical outcomes.

Both older adults and carers viewed advance care planning positively as a way to align care with personal preferences, reduce family conflict and lessen the burden of decision-making. That broad agreement was accompanied by emotional reservations in a substantial minority. Participants reported death-related anxiety, hopelessness and discomfort with advance care planning.

Among older adults, 49.0% were reluctant to engage while they felt they still had unresolved personal matters, indicating that general acceptance of the concept did not translate into equal readiness to participate. Agreement between older adults and carers on the 15 advance care planning items was only slight to moderate, with quadratic weighted kappa values ranging from 0.205 to 0.477. The reported differences were especially apparent in the relative importance assigned to information, decision-making roles, proxies, symptom relief, family burden and preferred place of death.

The findings therefore show that relatives’ estimates of an older adult’s priorities were not consistently aligned with the older adult’s own responses. They do not demonstrate why the pairs differed, and the cross-sectional design cannot establish whether their attitudes changed over time or affected decisions made near the end of life. Family carers also showed a notable pattern in their preferred timing of advance care planning.

They suggested earlier ages for planning for older people generally and for their relatives, yet were more likely to postpone planning for themselves. The study’s authors concluded that the findings support culturally sensitive, structured conversations involving both older adults and family carers within routine care. Such conversations could help distinguish the older adult’s preferences from a carer’s assumptions and identify areas where additional clarification is needed.

Because the sample came from Thai outpatient clinics and communities, the results may not represent every older adult, family carer or cultural setting.

Subject of Research: Agreement between Thai older adults and family carers on end-of-life care preferences and advance care planning attitudes

Article Title: Dyadic attitudes on end-of-life care and advance care planning: a cross-sectional community study of older adults and family carers

Article References: Anantapong, K., Rangsee, P. N., Thongkam, N., Chamroonkiadtikun, P., & Ananchaisarp, T. (2026). Dyadic attitudes on end-of-life care and advance care planning: a cross-sectional community study of older adults and family carers. BMC Health Services Research. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-15644-2

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DOI: 10.1186/s12913-026-15644-2

Keywords: advance care planning, end-of-life care, older adults, family carers, dyadic survey, Thailand, care preferences, decision-making, quadratic weighted kappa, Dyadic, attitudes, end-of-life

Researchers collected quantitative data on prior training and familiarity with gender-responsive healthcare, or GRH, for men. They used regression analysis to examine differences between the four professional groups and analysed open-ended responses with framework analysis to identify drivers of and barriers to training engagement and implementation. The sample comprised 487 healthcare professionals likely to encounter men in primary care and mental health settings in Australia. GRH is presented in the study as a framework for addressing the communication and trust problems that can compound men’s health burdens.

Psychologists reported significantly greater familiarity than general practitioners with two specific gender-responsive approaches: recognising gender norms, with an odds ratio of 2.74, and using a strengths-based approach, with an odds ratio of 4.27. The survey did not determine why the professional groups differed, and it did not test whether earlier training directly caused the reported familiarity. More broadly, the findings show limited exposure to relevant education: fewer than one in six respondents said they had received training during their primary professional education, and more than half described their familiarity with GRH for men as low.

The qualitative analysis produced five themes spanning individual, professional and macro-structural levels. Reported drivers included personal lived experience, rewarding clinical encounters and equity-based values. Reported barriers included stereotypic assumptions about men, safety concerns, uncertainty about how gender-responsive healthcare relates to person-centred care, systemic under-prioritisation of men’s health, short consultation times and financial disincentives. These responses indicate that professional interest did not align easily with the time, funding and organisational conditions described by participants. The study documents these barriers but does not measure how frequently they occurred or whether they affected the care delivered to individual patients.

Overall, the survey points to a gap between healthcare professionals’ stated motivation to engage with gender-responsive care and their reported preparedness and working conditions. The authors conclude that sustained change may depend on investment in curricula, organisational incentives and reimbursement structures that support longer, relationally focused consultations. That conclusion is presented as an implication of the findings, not as demonstrated intervention effectiveness. The study’s limitations include its cross-sectional design, reliance on self-reported training and familiarity, and the interpretive nature of the qualitative analysis. It also focuses on an Australian workforce, so its findings do not directly establish how the same barriers apply in other health systems. The research identifies conditions associated with engagement in GRH for men, but further evidence would be needed to determine whether particular training or system changes improve practice or patient outcomes.

Subject of Research: Australian healthcare professionals’ training, familiarity and perceived barriers to gender-responsive healthcare for men

Article Title: Attitudes towards gender-responsive healthcare for men: familiarity, drivers and barriers among Australian healthcare professionals

Article References: Croak, B., Lombardi, L., McGee, M., Wainwright, H., Rogers, B., Wilson, M. J., & Seidler, Z. (2026). Attitudes towards gender-responsive healthcare for men: familiarity, drivers and barriers among Australian healthcare professionals. BMC Health Services Research. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-15647-z

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12913-026-15647-z

Keywords: gender-responsive healthcare, men’s health, healthcare professionals, professional education, clinical training, health systems, Australia, survey research, consultation time, implementation barriers, Attitudes, towards