The social accountability of nursing training institutes in Morocco: The knowledge, perceptions and realization of its aspects

Abstract

Introduction: The social accountability (SA) challenges health professional training institutes to reorient their missions to train the graduates aligned with the society s priority needs and produce quality, population centered care. The objective was to assess the knowledge, perceptions, and implementation of SA by nursing education institutions. Method: The cross-sectional observational survey was conducted at the Higher Institute of Health Professions and Techniques of Marrakech (ISPITS-M) and its annexes between May 17 and June 4, 2020, using a mixed methodology. The data were collected through an online questionnaire, which was tested with 11 students and teachers. It was completed by 50 teachers and 213 students, recruited on a voluntary basis and was developed based on the literature review, aspects and principles of social accountability. In addition, eight semi-structured interviews were performed with administrative staff recruited by purposive sampling. Results: Out of a total of 924 students and 75 teachers, 213 students and 50 teachers participated in the survey, with a response rate of 23% and 67% simultaneously. The average age was 40.2±8.9 years for the teachers and 19.7±1.3 years for the students. 36% of the students had no knowledge of SA; teachers and leaders had different perceptions and the concreteness of the aspects of SA was low. The students felt they were less prepared in social determinants of health (85%), community lifestyles to be served (85%), outreach care, and frontline work (83%). Conclusion: The knowledge of SA is average; there is a need to raise awareness of SA in addition to strengthening training programs and the concretization of actions in this direction.