Computers, the Internet and medical education in Africa.
Objectives: This study aimed to explore the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in undergraduate medical education in developing countries. Methods: Educators (deans and heads of medical education) in English-speaking countries across Africa were sent a questionnaire to establish...
| Published in: | Medical Education Vol. 44; no. 5; pp. 485 - 489 |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
May2010
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=105176111&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 105176111 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 03080110 ESF jtl: Medical Education issn: 03080110 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: May2010 vid: 44 iid: 5 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell place: Malden, Massachusetts artinfo: ui: 105176111 2010627954 10.1111/j.1365-2923.2009.03602.x NLM20518986 105176111 ppf: 485 ppct: 4 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P tig: atl: Computers, the Internet and medical education in Africa. aug: au: Williams CD Pitchforth EL O'Callaghan C affil: Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK sug: subj: Computers and Computerization Utilization Education, Medical Trends Africa Cross Sectional Studies Descriptive Statistics Funding Source Human Internet Evaluation Questionnaires Summated Rating Scaling ab: Objectives: This study aimed to explore the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in undergraduate medical education in developing countries. Methods: Educators (deans and heads of medical education) in English-speaking countries across Africa were sent a questionnaire to establish the current state of ICT at medical schools. Non-respondents were contacted firstly by e-mail, subsequently by two postal mailings at 3-month intervals, and finally by telephone. Main outcome measures included cross-sectional data about the availability of computers, specifications, Internet connection speeds, use of ICT by students, and teaching of ICT and computerised research skills, presented by country or region. Results: The mean computer : student ratio was 0.123. Internet speeds were rated as 'slow' or 'very slow' on a 5-point Likert scale by 25.0% of respondents overall, but by 58.3% in East Africa and 33.3% in West Africa (including Cameroon). Mean estimates showed that campus computers more commonly supported CD-ROM (91.4%) and sound (87.3%) than DVD-ROM (48.1%) and Internet (72.5%). The teaching of ICT and computerised research skills, and the use of computers by medical students for research, assignments and personal projects were common. Conclusions: It is clear that ICT infrastructure in Africa lags behind that in other regions. Poor download speeds limit the potential of Internet resources (especially videos, sound and other large downloads) to benefit students, particularly in East and West (including Cameroon) Africa. CD-ROM capability is more widely available, but has not yet gained momentum as a means of distributing materials. Despite infrastructure limitations, ICT is already being used and there is enthusiasm for developing this further. Priority should be given to developing partnerships to improve ICT infrastructure and maximise the potential of existing technology. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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