Opinion, perception and attitude towards family adoption program among MBBS students: a cross-sectional study

Suwetha; Jayashree Santhanam; A. Kasthuri

doi:10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20261798

Authors

Suwetha Sri Lalithambigai Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Jayashree Santhanam Department of Community Medicine, Sri Lalithambigai Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
A. Kasthuri Department of Community Medicine, Sri Lalithambigai Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20261798

Keywords:

Communication, FAP, Opinion, Perception

Abstract

Background: The family adoption program (FAP) is an innovative and significant aspect of latest the competency based medical education (CBME) proposed by the National Medical Commission of India. FAP comes with both challenges and opportunities. Assigning families to each student and maintaining their follow-up throughout the undergraduate years is a difficult task. It is important to gather feedback during the early stages of implementation. While clinical medicine focuses on individual patient, community medicine recognizes that many other factors also contribute to the development of health condition. The FAP aims to develop strong communication skills, which are back bone for the profession.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among MBBS students from Phase I-IV from March 2025- May 2025 to assess the opinion, Perception and attitude towards FAP. Participants were individually approached, informed consent was obtained and they were requested to complete a structured Google-based questionnaire.

Results: Among 454 participants, the mean age of participants was 18-20 years. 75.6% of students considered FAP to be an innovative method of learning and this finding was statistically significant (p=0.006) (p <0.05). majority 215 (47.4%) students were primarily motivated by helping families in need and building a stronger community (208; 45.8%).

Conclusions: Although most findings were not statistically significant, the overall trend indicates that FAP is an effective and innovative teaching-learning method. Thus, FAP serves as a valuable bridge between theoretical knowledge and real-world community exposure and should be continued and optimized in medical education. Moreover, this study can be done in qualitative study among smaller samples for the clear understanding and perception of student’s view on FAP.

References

Shree A, Rashmi S, Sunil Kumar D. Community as a classroom: Perception of an Indian medical graduate on family adoption program. Clin Epidemiol Glob Health. 2024;28:101630.

Shikha S, Kumar A, Begum J, Ali SI, Tripathy S. Family Adoption Program for Undergraduate Medical Students at a New Medical School of Jharkhand: An Experience and SWOC Analysis. Indian J Community Med. 2024;49(1):218–22.

Statistics D. Ministry of Finance. Republic of Cyprus: Nicosia, Cyprus. 2019. Available at: https://www.nmc.org.in/MCIRest/open/getDocument?path=/Documents/Public/Portal/LatestNews/Implementation.pdf. Accessed on 21 November 2025.

Gurav RB, Nair AS, Tomar P. Opinion, perception and attitude of medical students towards family adoption programme- a cross-sectional study. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2024;11(12):4797–803.

Landge J, Kasbe S, Singh R, Satardekar A. Experience of Family Adoption Programme Implementation in Phase I MBBS Curriculum in a Medical College of Western India. GAIMS J Med Sci. 2023;18;3(2):74–9.

Sharma V, Arora P, Hossain SR, Budh N. First-year medical undergraduate students’ perceptions and experiences regarding family adoption program: Challenges and Lessons. J Med Acad. 2023;30;6(2):49–52.

Preeti, Kanubhai TH, Dhapola VS. Family adoption programme implementation feedback from undergraduate medical students in Almora: A cross-sectional study. J Fam Med Prim Care. 2024;13(12):5609–14.

Ganganahalli P, Yankanchi SG, Yadavannavar M, Udgiri R. Perception and Impact of the Family Adoption Program (FAP) Among Indian Medical Students: Benefits and Challenges. Cureus. 2024;18:56.

Reshmi PS, Lunagariya R, Patel H, Patel N, Chauhan D, Patel R. Qualitative Study to Identify Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Challenges of Family Adoption Programs among Students. Indian J Community Med. 2024;49(4):610.

Vanikar A, Kumar V. Unique program of Indian undergraduate medical education–family adoption Through Village Outreach. Indian J Community Med. 2024;49(3):459.

Arulmozhi M, Raveendran A, Ganapathy K, Kandasamy P. Implementing and Evaluating Risk Assessment as a New Learning Tool in Family Adoption Program: A Qualitative Study. Indian J Community Med. 2019;2:865.

Arumugam B, Sanjana L, Singh DG, Kuppuraj P, Sayee TSM. A narrative review on the experience of “Family Adoption Programme” in a tertiary care institute. J Community Health Manag. 2022;9(2):54–9.

Shree A, Rashmi S, Kumar DS. Community as a classroom: Perception of an Indian medical graduate on family adoption program. Clin Epidemiol Glob Health. 2024;1;28.

Landge J, Kasbe S, Singh R, Satardekar A. Experience of Family Adoption Programme Implementation in Phase I MBBS Curriculum in a Medical College of Western India. GAIMS J Med Sci. 2023;3(2):74–9.

Shekhawat K, Acharya R, Lunia G, Yadav N. Assessment Of Opinions, Perception and Attitude of Medical Students Regarding the Family Adoption Programme Introduced by National Medical Commission. Eur J Cardiovasc Med. 2025;15:433–7.

Das S, Baidya S, Mog C, Pal A, Pal A, Das P. Perception and challenges towards Family Adoption Program among undergraduate students of a Medical College of Tripura: a cross-sectional study. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2025;12(6):2650–5.

Sharma V, Arora P, Hossain SR, Budh N. First-year Medical Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions and Experiences Regarding Family Adoption Program: Challenges and Lessons. J Med Acad. 2023;6(2):49–52.

Yalamanchili VK, Uthakalla VK, Naidana SP, Kalapala A, Venkata PK, Yendapu R. Family adoption programme for medical undergraduates in India–the way ahead: a qualitative exploration of stakeholders’ perceptions. Indian J Community Med Off Publ Indian Assoc Prev Soc Med. 2023;48(1):142–6.

Singh T, Sharma S. Mpox in India: Current insights and strategic recommendations. Indian J Community Med. 2025;50(3):539.

Patra PR, Panda JN, Bisoyi SK. Perception of Medical Students on Family Adoption Programme; A Study conducted in a Medical College of Odisha. Indian J Community Med. 2024;49(1):71.

Mallik S. Family Adoption Program, A Way Forward to Community Based Medical Education. Challenges Ahead. J Compr Health. 2022;10(1):1–3.

shree A, Rashmi S, Shruddha K, Nath AR, Sunil Kumar D. Lived realities of family engagement: A thematic exploration of the family adoption program. Clin Epidemiol Glob Health. 2026;38:102305.

Chakraborty A, Sarkar N, Lahiri U, Bhowmick S, Sen S, Majumdar R, et al. Family adoption program in medical education and role of community medicine in its implementation in India: An overview. J Integr Med Public Health. 2023;2(2):49.

Shah HK, Virk AK, Dongre A, Datta SS, Gupta SS. Family Adoption Program: An NMC-mandated Initiative. Indian J Community Med. 2024;49(2):170.

Thakur JS, Vinod A. Review of implementation of the family adoption programme in undergraduate medical education in India: a narrative synthesis of literature and institutional practice. NMO J. 2025;19(2):195.