Frequency of academic dishonesty among medical university students in the world: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Medical Mycology and Bacteriology Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.

2 Assistant professor, Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran.

3 Master of Midwifery, Faculty Member, Department of Midwifery, Sirjan School of Medical Sciences, Sirjan, Iran.

4 Associate Professor, Reproductive and Family Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.

5 Assistant professor of pulmonology, Faculty of Medicine, Lung Diseases Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Science, Mashhad, Iran.

6 Associate Professor, Reproductive and Family Health Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.

7 Assistant professor, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Faculty of Health, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.

10.22038/nnj.2025.88316.1491

Abstract

Background and Aims: The rate of academic dishonesty has increased in the last 30 years, but until now, no systematic review has been published that examines the prevalence of academic dishonesty among medical students in the world. Therefore, the present study investigated the prevalence of academic dishonesty in exams in the universities of medical sciences.
Materials and Methods: In this review, the Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, Google Scholar, and PubMed databases were searched using various combinations of relevant keywords. The quality of the included articles was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.                                    
Results: The overall prevalence of academic dishonesty was 39.46% (95% CI: 28.83–50.09). By discipline, the prevalence was 38.70% in dental schools, 40.07% in medical schools (particularly 26.98% among medical students), 60.88% in nursing schools, and 34.64% in pharmacy faculties. Subgroup analysis revealed that the prevalence of academic dishonesty in studies conducted before 2010 was 33.70%, whereas in studies conducted after 2010, it increased to 44.59%. The lowest reported prevalence was 4.7% in the USA in 1996, while the highest was 78% in South Korea in 2013.          
Conclusion: Considering the high prevalence of academic dishonesty among medical students worldwide and the critical importance of medical and paramedical fields, educational staff require evidence-based and practical strategies, grounded in extensive research, to prevent academic misconduct and protect the rights of students who earn their grades through consistent and diligent effort.

Keywords

References

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Navid No
Volume 28, Issue 94
September 2025
Pages 62-78

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