Facility-related factors affecting academic performance of medical students in human anatomy

Introduction: Medical students’ academic performance plays an important role in producing qualified graduates who will become great practitioners and workforce for the country’s health sector responsible for controlling, diagnosing, and treatment of diseases. The purpose of this study was to identify college facility-related factors affecting medical students’ academic performance in the human anatomy course. Methods: To achieve the objective of this study, a cross-sectional study design was carried out between January 13 and March 30, 2019. One hundred twenty study participants were recruited in the study. Data were collected using self-administered questioners. Binary and multinomial logistic regression were applied to analyze the data. Results: A total of 120 participants were included in the study. Of which, 81 (67.5%) were male while 39 (32.5%) were females. Dormitory crowdedness (AOR 3.16 (95% CI: 0.83– 2.01, p= 0.11), large class size (AOR = 2.36; 95% CI: 1.11–4.64 p = 0.005), inadequate classroom facilities (AOR = 1.56; 95% CI: 1.51–4.91, p = 0.001), low internet access (AOR = 1.99; 95% CI: 1.07–3.22, p = 0.015) and inadequate anatomy-teaching model (AOR = 2.63; 95% CI: 1.17–6.12, p =0.003) were significantly associated with low performance of students in human anatomy course exam. However, college library (AOR = 0.23; 95% CI: 0.1–0.48 p = 0.061) did not show significant association with academic performance (p = 0.61). Conclusion: Dormitory crowdedness, large class size, inadequate classroom facilities, low internet access, and inadequate anatomy-teaching models were independent factors, which affect the performance of medical students in the human anatomy course exam. However, there was no significant association between the college library and the performance of study participants in this particular course.