Uganda Secondary School Students’ Knowledge and Awareness of the Bachelor of Science in Medical Radiography (BSMR) Programme

Background: Makerere University's department of Radiology offers the Bachelor of Science in Medical Radiography (BSMR) programme, PCB/SM shall be considered for direct entrants to the programme. Despite the Ugandan government's push for science education, there exists low enrollment in the PCB/SM combination yet it is the core science subject combination. Limited research exists on Ugandan secondary students' knowledge and awareness of university programmes and how early they are informed of these programmes. Objectives: To determine the proportion of A-level biological science students pursuing PCB/SM, assess the levels and sources of knowledge and awareness of the BSMR programme, and compare this knowledge and awareness between O-level and A-level biological science students in Ugandan secondary schools. Methods: A descriptive quantitative cross-sectional study in Uganda assessed 446 secondary school students from O-level and A-level biological science classes using clustered random sampling. Results: Only 2% of A-level biological students do PCB/SM. Awareness (39%) and knowledge (21%) of the BSMR programme are low. 40% and 49% of students lack source of knowledge and awareness respectively. Career guidance is the main information source (19%). A-level students show higher awareness (53%) and knowledge (25%) than O-level students (26% and 18%). Conclusion: Few A-level biological science students take PCB/SM resulting in limited enrollment for the BSMR programme. Knowledge and awareness of the BSMR programme are generally low due to lack of access to information on the programme. Knowledge and awareness of the BSMR programme are higher at A-level than at O-level due to delayed career guidance.