Background and objectives: Sleep disorders are a common public health problem among college students. The objective of this study was to evaluate sleep quality and its associated factors in medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional analytical study—we conducted a secondary analysis of the survey “Nomophobia in medical students in Peru” database between 2020 and 2021. Sleep disturbances were assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). To evaluate associated factors, crude and adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. Results: We analyzed data from 3139 participants from 18 cities in Peru (61.1% were women, median age: 22 years). 43.4% had a quality of sleep that could require medical attention; the PSQI dimension with the highest score was daytime dysfunction. The poor sleep quality was associated with symptoms of anxiety (aPR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.27–1.72), depression (aPR: 2.03; 1.72–2.39), or nomophobia (aPR: 1.28; 1.09–1.51). Conclusions: Sleep disorders were a common problem among Peruvian medical students and were associated with anxiety, depression, or nomophobia symptoms.

Due to close contact with death, medical students may question their own and their patients’ dying process, especially with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the increase in deaths. This situation provokes fear and negative attitudes towards dealing with patients and their environment. This study aimed to assess the level of fear of death and associated factors in medical students at a Peruvian university. A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted during March 2021 in human medicine students from the first to the seventh year. A validated survey including the Collet–Lester fear-of-death scale was applied. Factors associated with the fear-of-death score were evaluated by calculating linear regression coefficients (β). A total of 284 students were included. The median age was 22 years, and 58.1% were female. The mean Collet–Lester scale score was 2.79, and it was higher in the dimensions related to the death of others. Adjusted analysis showed that the score on this scale was lower in students aged 24–40 years compared to 17–21 years (β: −0.25; 95% CI: −0.46 to −0.04) and those who had no religious beliefs (β: −0.29; 95% CI: −0.53 to −0.04). In conclusion, fear of death was lower than reported in other investigations despite the COVID-19 situation, being much lower among older students and those without religious beliefs.

Introduction: The World Health Organization defines palliative care (PC) as an approach aimed at improving the quality of life of patients and families facing life-threatening illness. In developing countries, gaps persist in coverage, late referrals, and limited integration of PC into hospital care, especially for non-oncologic conditions. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between chronic diseases and the need for PC among hospitalized patients in a hospital in southern Peru. Methods: Analytical cross-sectional study in a public referral hospital. We included adults ⩾18 years admitted to Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, or the Emergency Department; we excluded pregnant/postpartum patients, those managed exclusively in the ICU/Trauma Shock Unit, urgent surgical cases precluding assessment, and patients with cognitive impairment (Pfeiffer ⩾2). The need for PC was assessed using the SPICT-TM-ES (⩾2 general indicators + ⩾1 clinical indicator). Sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected via interview and chart review. Associations were estimated using Poisson regression with robust variance, reporting adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results: We included 150 patients; 67.3% met criteria for PC need. Multimorbidity (⩾2 comorbidities) and ⩾2 hospitalizations in the past year were associated with a higher need for PC. In adjusted models, dementia (aPR = 1.15; 95% CI: 1.05–1.26) and malignancy (aPR = 1.14; 95% CI: 1.05–1.24) were positively associated with PC need, whereas type 2 diabetes mellitus was inversely associated (aPR = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.77–0.93). Conclusion: The need for PC among hospitalized patients with chronic conditions was high.

To date, no studies have investigated the effect of native language on depressive symptom networks. To address this gap, we examined depression symptom network structure across four major cultural-linguistic groups in Peru (Castellano, Quechua, Aymara, and Amazonian indigenous languages). We conducted a network analysis of PHQ-9 depression symptoms using nationally representative data from 31,276 Peruvian participants. Networks were estimated using ggmModSelect with Spearman correlations. Native language groups were compared using permutation tests to evaluate network differences. Depression networks exhibited distinct architectures across groups, with Castellano showing the highest connectivity (22 active edges), followed by Quechua (20 edges) and Aymara (12 edges, p < 0.019). While worthlessness/guilt-suicidal ideation was the strongest universal pathway (r = 0.377–0.44), groups exhibited distinct centrality patterns: Castellano networks centered on depressed mood, Quechua on fatigue, and Aymara on suicidal ideation. Aymara networks showed absence of anhedonia-depressed mood connections (r = 0.00) and unique psychomotor-suicidal ideation pathways (r = 0.27), which requires further exploration. It is suggested that native language may shape depression architecture, suggesting distinct cultural-linguistic patterns that challenge current depression models.

Introducción: El licenciamiento de los programas de medicina es un proceso fundamental para asegurar la calidad de la educación médica. Sin embargo, la evidencia del impacto de estos procesos es controversial. Objetivo: Describir las características académicas e institucionales de estudiantes que rindieron el Examen de Internado Médico del Seguro Social de Salud (EsSalud) y explorar su asociación con el puntaje obtenido. Método: Estudio transversal analítico de una base de datos secundaria de estudiantes de medicina que rindieron el Examen de EsSalud en Perú el 27 de diciembre del 2022. Evaluamos los factores asociados al puntaje del examen de EsSalud mediante regresión lineal. Resultados: Evaluamos a 1,228 estudiantes de medicina que rindieron el examen de EsSalud. La mediana de puntaje en el Examen de EsSalud fue de 12.2 (rango 10.2 a 13.8), el 35.9% de los estudiantes aprobó el examen y solo el 26.5% proviene de una Universidad que cuenta con el programa de medicina ya licenciado. En el modelo ajustado, el puntaje en el Examen de EsSalud fue mayor en estudiantes que pertenecían a una universidad con el programa de medicina ya licenciado (β 0.5; IC 95%: 0.2 a 0.8) y aquellos con un promedio ponderado universitario mayor o igual a 13. Y el puntaje fue menor en estudiantes de universidades societarias (β –1.2; –1.6 a –0.8) o asociativa (β –2.0; –2.4 a –1.6). Discusión: Examinamos los factores asociados con el desempeño en el examen nacional de internado médico en Perú. Se encontró que el licenciamiento de los programas de medicina y la pertenencia a universidades nacionales se relacionaron con puntajes más altos en el Examen de EsSalud. Recomendamos mejorar la transparencia de estos exámenes y continuar con el licenciamiento de los programas. Conclusiones: Los estudiantes de medicina provenientes de universidades nacionales y con promedio mayor o igual a 13 tuvieron mejor desempeño en el Examen de EsSalud.

What is the educational challenge? The Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI) is widely used to evaluate the quality of quantitative research in medical education. It has strong evidence of validity and is endorsed by guidelines. However, the manual appraisal process is time-consuming and resource-intensive, highlighting the need for more efficient methods. What are the proposed solutions? We propose to use ChatGPT to evaluate the quality of medical education research with the MERSQI and compare its scoring with those of human evaluators. What are the potential benefits to a broader global audience? Using ChatGPT to evaluate medical education research with the MERSQI can decrease the resources required for quality appraisal. This allows faster summaries of evidence, reducing the workload of researchers, editors, and educators. Furthermore, ChatGPTs' capability to extract supporting excerpts provides transparency and may have the potential for data extraction and training new medical education researchers. What are the next steps? We plan to continue evaluating medical education research with ChatGPT using the MERSQI and other instruments to determine its feasibility in this realm. Moreover, we plan to investigate which types of studies ChatGPT performs best in.