Clinical trial NCT04874987: Impact of Simulation Based Learning on Gender, and Equity Dynamics Among Inter-health Professional Teams
Official title: Impact of Simulation Based Learning on Gender, and Equity Dynamics Among Interhealth Professionals at Selected Institutions in Sub Saharan Africa
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Conditions: Simulation-based Methodology
Keywords: Simulation based learning
Lead sponsor: Mbarara University of Science and Technology
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: University of Calgary
name: The ELMA Foundation
name: Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute
First posted: 2021-05-06
Enrollment: 150
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: PROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: Medical students, faculty members involved in delivery of scenario execution

Brief summary: At Mbarara University of Science and Technology and partner sites, the investigators will explore the role of simulation in gender and equity. African societies are largely patriarchal, and this spills over into professional practice and medical education. Simulation methodology is at risk of suffering from a patriarchal dominance. The male dominance has potential to introduce power relationships between men and women learners in a scenario setting and between physicians and nurses. In the presence of such power differentials, the less dominant party could develop a "culture of silence," fail to take decisions on issues that affect them or their patients, fail to talk about these issues and take appropriate action.

Detailed description: To address the challenges of gender and equity: 1) the investigators will teach Advocacy Inquiry (AI) and the ladder of inference (LoI) as conversational strategies for all simulation faculty members to explore participant frames of action and thought processes, 2) the investigators will design and expose participants to simulated scenarios with embedded gender and or inter-professional power differentials, 3) study the effect of AI, the LoI and debriefed gender and equity scenarios on participant engagement strategies during gender and inter-professional conflict situations.

The Ladder of Influence allows facilitators select some data / observation, add interpretation, draw conclusions and take action. Though the Ladder of influence is a powerful approach to exploring situations, its prone to challenges if users jump to conclusions quickly without being curious about what alternative interpretations of the observed data / action could be. AI uses the "show", "think" and "wonder" as a strategy to slow facilitators from jumping up the LoI to draw conclusions before exploring learner perspectives. AI and the LoI in combination encourage self-reflection and good judgment. The investigators will deliberately encourage simulation teams to have both males and females and inter-professional with opportunities for team leaders to vary with both sex and profession.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Medical students
* Faculty members in the Faculty of Medicine
* Based at Mbarara University, Lira University, Busitema University, or Muni University

Exclusion Criteria:

* Medical students and faculty outside the participating Universities
* Non-medical students
* Faculty not based in the Faculties of Medicine

Primary outcomes:
measure: Gender and inter-professional conflicts in simulation
timeFrame: Change in conflicts 24 months after introduction of simulation based techniques
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Mbarara
country: Uganda
facility: Mbarara University of Science and Technology
Study officials:
References: