{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T09:35:03Z","timestamp":1785404103685,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"AOSIS","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,24]],"date-time":"2025-11-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763942400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background:\u00a0The Medical Physiology and Biochemistry (PHSL 2004A) course is a compulsory 2nd-year requirement for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBCH) and Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) programmes. A significant decline in pass rates was observed among the 2020 cohort assessed in 2021.\nAim:\u00a0This study aimed to investigate the influence of programme affiliation, residence status (on-campus or off-campus), admission category and race on PHSL 2004A pass rates in 2021.\nSetting:\u00a0The study was conducted at the University of the Witwatersrand, focusing on Faculty of Health Sciences students.\nMethods:\u00a0A quantitative approach was adopted, analysing data from 380 students (218 MBBCh; 162 BHSc). Independent samples\u00a0t-tests, one-way between-groups ANOVA and chi-square tests were employed for analysis.\nResults:\u00a0MBBCh students achieved higher average scores (M\u00a0= 60.76) compared to BHSc students (M\u00a0= 47.98), demonstrating better overall performance in the course. Students living off-campus showed slightly higher pass rates (72%) than those residing on-campus (65%), although this difference was statistically insignificant. Admission category played a significant role in performance, with students admitted under the Top 40 category achieving higher scores than those admitted under the top rural and top BC categories.\nConclusion:\u00a0Programme affiliation and admission category significantly influenced PHSL 2004A performance, whereas residential status did not exhibit a notable effect.\nContribution:\u00a0This study highlights key predictors of academic performance in PHSL 2004A, offering insights that can inform targeted interventions to improve pass rates and support underperforming student groups.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/hsag.v30i0.2933","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,21]],"date-time":"2025-11-21T12:24:48Z","timestamp":1763727888000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Influence of admission categories, programme, race and residence status on MBBCh and BHSc student performance: Academic 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