Access, attitudes and training in information technologies and evidence-based medicine among medical students at University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of evidence-based medicine among resident physicians in hospitals of Syria: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is to integrate the best research evidence with our clinical expertise, circumstances, and unique values of our patient. However, there are no studies about using EBM in clinical practice among resident doctors in Syria. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the self-reported knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of EBM by resident doctors throughout different teaching hospitals in Syria.

METHODS

The study is a cross-sectional. A self-reported online questionnaire was used to collect data about KAP of EBM from 214 resident physicians working in secondary and tertiary teaching hospitals. The study was conducted between September 2021 and February 2022. All data were analyzed using SPSS, and non-parametric statistical tests were used to identify the correlation between different variables and make the necessary comparisons.

RESULTS

Two hundred and fourteen physicians responded to the questionnaire with a response rate of 85.6%. The overall mean scores of KAP of EBM were 59.2, 74.3 and 53.9%, respectively. The participants displayed a low level of awareness of resources and statistical terms used in EBM. The most well-known resources for residents were Up To Date and PubMed. Among the participants, pediatric residents achieved the highest score in practicing EBM, while family medicine residents scored the lowest score.

CONCLUSION

The overall impression about the KAP of EBM among Syrian residents was as following: weak awareness, neutral attitude and poor practice of EBM. Training workshops should be set up to teach residents the skills needed to move from opinion-based practice to evidence-based practice.

Medical Student Training in eHealth: Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

eHealth is the use of information and communication technologies to enable and improve health and health care services. It is crucial that medical students receive adequate training in eHealth as they will work in clinical environments that are increasingly being enabled by technology. This trend is especially accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic as it complicates traditional face-to-face medical consultations and highlights the need for innovative approaches in health care.

OBJECTIVE

This review aims to evaluate the extent and nature of the existing literature on medical student training in eHealth. In detail, it aims to examine what this education consists of, the barriers, enhancing factors, and propositions for improving the medical curriculum. This review focuses primarily on some key technologies such as mobile health (mHealth), the internet of things (IoT), telehealth, and artificial intelligence (AI).

METHODS

Searches were performed on 4 databases, and articles were selected based on the eligibility criteria. Studies had to be related to the training of medical students in eHealth. The eligibility criteria were studies published since 2014, from a peer-reviewed journal, and written in either English or French. A grid was used to extract and chart data.

RESULTS

The search resulted in 25 articles. The most studied aspect was mHealth. eHealth as a broad concept, the IoT, AI, and programming were least covered. A total of 52% (13/25) of all studies contained an intervention, mostly regarding mHealth, electronic health records, web-based medical resources, and programming. The findings included various barriers, enhancing factors, and propositions for improving the medical curriculum.

CONCLUSIONS

Trends have emerged regarding the suboptimal present state of eHealth training and barriers, enhancing factors, and propositions for optimal training. We recommend that additional studies be conducted on the following themes: barriers, enhancing factors, propositions for optimal training, competencies that medical students should acquire, learning outcomes from eHealth training, and patient care outcomes from this training. Additional studies should be conducted on eHealth and each of its aspects, especially on the IoT, AI, programming, and eHealth as a broad concept. Training in eHealth is critical to medical practice in clinical environments that are increasingly being enabled by technology. The need for innovative approaches in health care during the COVID-19 pandemic further highlights the relevance of this training.

Self-reported attitudes, knowledge and skills of using evidence-based medicine in daily health care practice: A national survey among students of medicine and health sciences in Hungary

In order to map attitudes, knowledge and skills related to evidence-based medicine (EBM) in students of medical and health sciences faculties, we performed an online survey during the spring semester 2019 in all medical and health sciences faculties in Hungary. In total, 1080 students of medicine and 911 students of health sciences completed the online questionnaire. The attitude towards EBM was generally positive; however, only a small minority of students rated their EBM-related skills as advanced. There were large differences in the understanding of different EBM-related terms, with 'sample size' as the term with the highest (65%) and 'intention-to-treat analysis' with the lowest (7%) proportion of medical students being able to properly explain the meaning of the expression. Medical students who already participated in some EBM training rated their skills in searching and evaluating medical literature and their knowledge of EBM-related terms significantly better and had a more positive attitude towards using EBM in the practice than students without previous EBM training. EBM trained medical students were more likely to choose online journals (17.5% compared to 23.9%, p<0.05) and professional guidelines (15.4% compared to 6.1%, p<0.001) instead of printed books (33.6% compared to 52.6, p<0.001) as the main source of healthcare information retrieval and used Pubmed/Medline, Medscape and the Cochrane Library to a significant higher rate than students without any previous EBM training. Healthcare work experience (OR = 1.59; 95% CI = 1.01–2.52), conducting student research (OR = 2.02; 95% CI = 1.45–2.82) and upper year university students (OR = 1.65; 95% CI = 1.37–1.98) were other factors significantly influencing EBM-related knowledge. We conclude that the majority of students of medical and health sciences faculties are keen to acquire EBM-related knowledge and skills during their university studies. Significantly higher EBM-related knowledge and skills among EBM trained students underline the importance of targeted EBM education, while parallel increase of knowledge and skills with increasing number of education years highlight the importance of integrating EBM terminology and concepts also into the thematic of other courses.

Better evidence: prospective cohort study assessing the utility of an evidence-based clinical resource at the University of Rwanda

OBJECTIVE

Evidence-based clinical resources (EBCRs) have the potential to improve diagnostic and therapeutic accuracy. The majority of US teaching medical institutions have incorporated them into clinical training. Many EBCRs are subscription based, and their cost is prohibitive for most clinicians and trainees in low-income and middle-income countries. We sought to determine the utility of EBCRs in an East African medical school.

SETTING

The University of Rwanda (UR), a medical school located in East Africa.

PARTICIPANTS

Medical students and faculty members at UR.

INTERVENTIONS

We offered medical students and faculty at UR free access to UpToDate, a leading EBCR and conducted a cohort study to assess its uptake and usage. Students completed two surveys on their study habits and gave us permission to access their activity on UpToDate and their grades.

RESULTS

Of the 980 medical students invited to enrol over 2 years, 547 did (56%). Of eligible final year students, 88% enrolled. At baseline, 92% of students reported ownership of an internet-capable device, and the majority indicated using free online resources frequently for medical education. Enrolled final year students viewed, on average, 1.24 topics per day and continued to use UpToDate frequently after graduation from medical school. Graduating class exam performance was better after introduction of UpToDate than in previous years.

CONCLUSIONS

Removal of the cost barrier was sufficient to generate high uptake of a leading EBCR by senior medical students and habituate them to continued usage after graduation.

Evolution of Wikipedia's medical content: past, present and future

As one of the most commonly read online sources of medical information, Wikipedia is an influential public health platform. Its medical content, community, collaborations and challenges have been evolving since its creation in 2001, and engagement by the medical community is vital for ensuring its accuracy and completeness. Both the encyclopaedia’s internal metrics as well as external assessments of its quality indicate that its articles are highly variable, but improving. Although content can be edited by anyone, medical articles are primarily written by a core group of medical professionals. Diverse collaborative ventures have enhanced medical article quality and reach, and opportunities for partnerships are more available than ever. Nevertheless, Wikipedia’s medical content and community still face significant challenges, and a socioecological model is used to structure specific recommendations. We propose that the medical community should prioritise the accuracy of biomedical information in the world’s most consulted encyclopaedia.

Infections interplay with non-communicable diseases

No Abstract.