Components of Social Accountability in Medical Education: A Scoping Review Publisher Pubmed



Saniee N¹ ; Motamed S² ; Barati M^{3, 4} ; Goodarzi F⁵ ; Hassanzadeh G⁶ ; Kohpayehzadeh J⁷ ; Ezati E⁴ ; Khazaei A⁸ Show Affiliations
Source: BMC Medical Education Published:2025

Abstract

Background: Currently, medical education considers community-centered needs, and in this regard, the concept of social accountability has been introduced. The main challenge of medical schools in the twenty-first century is the responsibility of achieving community-based medical education, which is related to the health needs of the community, and medical sciences’ graduates can provide the best healthcare. For this reason, the purpose of this study is to determine the most important components of social accountability in medical education. Methods: This study was conducted based on the PRISMA-ScR guideline in 2023. For this purpose, the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, and Google Scholar databases were searched without time and language limitations with the keywords “medical education” and “social accountability” for investigating the components of social accountability in medical education. After screening the studies, thematic content analysis was performed for extracting and charting data, collating, summarizing, and synthesizing and reporting findings. Results: During this search, 6313 records were identified, 2086 of which were duplicates. A total of 4227 titles and abstracts were screened according to the inclusion criteria. The main reason for excluding studies was survey studies that did not mention the components of social accountability in medical education. Finally, 52 full texts had been studied of which 33 records were eligible for inclusion in this study. Conclusions: The main components of social accountability in medical education include communication in providing medical education, communication in providing medical services, equity in providing medical education and services, cost-effectiveness of medical services, quality of medical services, revising medical curricula, conducting research based on community needs, and providing infrastructures of social accountability in medical education. Therefore, medical education that responds to the needs of society requires attention to these components. © The Author(s) 2025.