Objective This study examined the relationship between students’ perceptions of cadaver dissection (CD) and some learning conditions during CD.

Methods This is a cross-sectional study involving 2968 medical students and graduates exposed to CD at nine countries systematically and proportionally selected from Sub-Saharan African countries based on their ranking on the four World Bank indices of development and education: population, literacy, human capital index (HCI), and human development index (HDI). A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect relevant data on learning conditions during CD experience of the participants, using online channels, including email, Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Results About half (48.76%) of the participants perceived CD as stressful, while 51.24% thought otherwise. However, 57% of participants from institutions where a CD session lasts three hours described their experience as stressful, whereas 69.67% of participants whose institution spent one hour in a single CD session agreed that CD is not stressful. Similarly, 60.63% of participants from institutions with a student-donor ratio between 5 to 10 students per cadaver described their experience as ‘not stressful’. In comparison, 57.51% of participants from institutions with a student-donor ratio of 10–20 students per donor and 53.80% of participants from institutions with over 20 students per donor described their experience as stressful.

Conclusions Students from institutions with CD instructors, shorter CD sessions, and a smaller student-donor ratio are more likely to perceive CD as stress-free. Providing more support for students during CD and reducing time for CD may be an antidote to CD-related stress.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

This study did not receive any funding

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

This study obtained ethical clearance from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Faculty of Basic Medical Science Ethical Committee with the approval number NAU/CHS/NC/FMBS/663

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

Yes

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

Yes

I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

Yes