Implementation of a digital health module for undergraduate medical students: A comparative study on knowledge and attitudes

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Digital competencies are more and more required in everyday work, and training future healthcare professionals in digital health is highly important. OBJECTIVE: Aim of this study was to assess medical students’ gain of knowledge by participation in a teaching module “Digital Health”, and to evaluate their attitudes towards digital health and its role in medical education. METHODS: Students of the module were asked to complete a questionnaire and a multiple-choice-test before and after completing the classes. Students of the same educational level in different modules served as reference group. RESULTS: 34 students took part (n= 17 “Digital Health group”; n= 17 “reference group”). There was no significant difference in pre-existing knowledge between the groups. After having completed the module, participants reached significantly higher scores, compared to their preexisting knowledge (p< 0.05) and the reference group (p< 0.05). Most students found that digital medicine is not sufficiently represented in undergraduate medical education, but will influence everyday work of physicians in the next five years. CONCLUSIONS: Students showed a high awareness for the impact of digital health on physicians’ work. The results suggest that the format can sufficiently transfer knowledge about digital health. Teaching of digital knowledge and competencies should be firmly implemented into medical education to form digitally competent future doctors.

Sharing Digital Health Educational Resources in a One-Stop Shop Portal: Tutorial on the Catalog and Index of Digital Health Teaching Resources (CIDHR) Semantic Search Engine

“…However, the need to develop and improve digital health competencies for medical learners and broadly for health-related students and professionals is an established objective worldwide [45,50,51]. As a fact, prior studies evaluating digital health competencies among German medical students have shown a significant improvement after a digital health teaching course was introduced in their curriculum, although most students found that digital health is not sufficiently taught in undergraduate medical education, while it may influence everyday work of physicians [52].…”

Medical studies in times of a pandemic – concepts of digital teaching for Orthopaedics and Trauma at german universities

“…One example would be the focused teaching in "Digital Health" at Charité university hospital in Berlin [14]. By implementing a digital health module for undergraduate medical students at Charité, "increased awareness for the importance and potential future impact of digital health on physicians' work" could be shown [15].…”

The interface between multidisciplinary learning and digital transformation: Insights in higher education and healthcare in the 2021 century

“…Curricula should prioritize digital literacy to transcend to practice in health systems (PONCETTE et al, 2020;SEEMANN et al, 2023). Health education tends to lag behind technological advances and leaves many professionals unprepared to provide care with digital skills (WALSH; RUMSFELD, 2017).…”