Last update:
   02-Jun-2020
 

Arch Hellen Med, 37(3), May-June 2020, 306-314

REVIEW

Academic misconduct in health-related sciences A comprehensive literature review

G. Bazoukis,1 J. Chan,2 K.H.C. Li,3,4 D.S.T. Li,3 G. Tse,4 I. Alexandraki,5 T. Zaimis,6 S.S. Papadatos,7 T. Liu,8 I.D.K. Dimoliatis6
1Second Department of Cardiology, Laboratory of Cardiac Electrophysiology, "Evangelismos" General Hospital of Athens, Athens, Greece
2University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
3Faculty of Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle, United Kingdom
4Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Principal Investigator, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
5Department of Clinical Sciences, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
6Medical Education Unit, Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
7Department of Internal Medicine, "Sotiria" General Hospital of Athens, Athens, Greece
8Department of Cardiology, Tianjin Institute of Cardiology, Second Hospital of Tianjin, Medical University, People's Republic of China, Tianjin, China

Academic dishonesty is prevalent in the health services. Dishonest academic behavior is a predictor of unprofessional behavior in clinical practice. This is important as it could lead to patient harm and a loss in confidence in the profession. Review of the literature suggests that attitudes towards dishonesty have become lax, suggesting a reason as to why it has generally become more acceptable. Technology is a double-edged sword which has improved access to resources for dishonest behavior, but which has also brought advances in the field of detection. The only factor demonstrated to strongly indicate a group at risk of cheating was the male gender. Recommendations on how to detect, manage and prevent academic dishonesty, and the formative role of teachers play in nurturing honesty in students have been explored. There is a need to determine if findings are reproducible in a wider variety of environments and cultures. Based on review of the current literature, we propose a template for minimizing academic dishonesty, as a basis for adaptation and further evaluation.

Key words: Academic misconduct, Cheating, Plagiarism, Unethical behavior.

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