Student motivation is one of the main factors associated to success of the educational process. In particular, motivation is important in cases when the students must select for one specific matter or subject among a group of different subjects included in their academic curricula (optative subjects). Different factors may play a role in motivation of the students, especially in motivation to select one or other optative subject. In health sciences, one of these factors is the presence of a topic in audiovisual and press mass media (newspapers, television, radio, etc.). It is well known that general population is especially sensitive and receptive to information and news related to health matters. In general, the audience usually pays special attention to those pieces of news that show usefulness and novelty.
The field of stem cells has recently received special attention in all mass media due to the important role that these cells play in tissue engineering and cell therapy. Artificial tissues and organs can be constructed in the laboratory by tissue engineering using stem cells, and they can be later used clinically in therapeutical protocols affecting the human skin, cornea, oral mucosa, bone, cartilage, etc. The clinical importance of this therapeutic tool is very high due to the high prevalence of many diseases affecting these organs.
Within the academical curriculum of the students of the Medical School of the University of Granada, a novel elective subject focused on stem cells was established in 2005. In this work, we have studied the putative correlation between the presence of news related to stem cells in two kinds of media (the journal El País, with the highest number of readers in Spain and the television channel Telecinco, with the highest audience in Spain) and the motivations of students in terms of usefulness at the time of selecting stem cells as a subject in their curricula. To determine this correlation, we used a questionnaire in which students had to indicate the reasons and motivations that made them select this subject. This questionnaire was presented to the students of stem cells during three consecutive years (2005, 2006 and 2007). At the same time, we carried out a study to identify the number of pieces of news in both mass media using as a keyword the term “stem cells” and for 2005, 2006 and 2007, years when this subject was taught in the medical school.
Our results show that the presence of information related to stem cells in the selected journal increased a 41.55% from the first to the last year considered in this study. Similarly, in the selected audiovisual medium, a 34.67% increase was detected from 2005 to 2007. When the students were inquired about their motivations that made them select the subject, the item related to professional applications and usefulness of stem cells knowledge increased 44.11% from the first to the last year.
Although medical students are aware of the importance of stem cells as a tool in medicine, mass media could influence the perception of usefulness by the students as demonstrated by the parallel increment of the percentage of news related to stem cells in mass media and the increase of the percentage of students that selected this subject due to professional applications and medical usefulness.