Self-reported perceptions and knowledge of telemedicine in medical students and professionals who enrolled in an online course in Peru
Abstract Background Telemedicine has become more relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, medical students and professionals do not acquire competences in telemedicine during their training. Our objective was to describe the self-reported perception and baseline knowledge of telemedicine amon...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-02-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Education |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04058-x |
| _version_ | 1811171643314143232 |
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| author | Fabrizio M. García-Gutiérrez Francis Pino-Zavaleta Milton A. Romero-Robles Ana F. Patiño-Villena Abigail S. Jauregui-Cornejo Alejandro Benites-Bullón Alina Goméz-Mendoza Christoper A. Alarcon-Ruiz Oscar Huapaya-Huertas |
| author_facet | Fabrizio M. García-Gutiérrez Francis Pino-Zavaleta Milton A. Romero-Robles Ana F. Patiño-Villena Abigail S. Jauregui-Cornejo Alejandro Benites-Bullón Alina Goméz-Mendoza Christoper A. Alarcon-Ruiz Oscar Huapaya-Huertas |
| author_sort | Fabrizio M. García-Gutiérrez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Telemedicine has become more relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, medical students and professionals do not acquire competences in telemedicine during their training. Our objective was to describe the self-reported perception and baseline knowledge of telemedicine among medical students and professionals enrolled in a virtual course. Methods Cross-sectional study that included physicians or medical students aged 18 years or older who were interested in a free virtual telemedicine course and who completed the data collection questionnaire. We used a Likert scale to assess the self-reported perceptions of four domains related to telemedicine. The participants were grouped into three levels for each domain: low, medium and high. We also objectively assessed telemedicine knowledge by means of 10 questions, with a cut-off point of 50% of correct answers. The Fisher's exact test, the Chi-square test, and the Mann–Whitney U test were used for the comparison of categorical data. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results We included 161 participants: 118 medical students and 43 physicians. We observed no significant differences between medical students and physicians in self-reported perceptions of knowledge, security, or utility of telemedicine. However, students had a high self-reported perception of the disadvantages of telemedicine especially related to patient security (p = 0.018), efficiency of care (p = 0.040), and the possibility of medical malpractice (p = 0.010) compared to physicians. Nearly half of the students (n = 53,44.9%) and physicians (n = 22,51.7%) answered 50% or more of the questions related to telemedicine knowledge correctly. Conclusion Among the physicians and medical students enrolled in the course, the students perceived the disadvantages of telemedicine more frequently. Although physicians and students have limited knowledge of telemedicine, there appears to be no influence of experience and prior training in telemedicine. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T17:18:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a9fd9c0a92d84dbcb609bc6d2955fbcc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1472-6920 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T17:18:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-a9fd9c0a92d84dbcb609bc6d2955fbcc2023-02-05T12:16:13ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202023-02-012311810.1186/s12909-023-04058-xSelf-reported perceptions and knowledge of telemedicine in medical students and professionals who enrolled in an online course in PeruFabrizio M. García-Gutiérrez0Francis Pino-Zavaleta1Milton A. Romero-Robles2Ana F. Patiño-Villena3Abigail S. Jauregui-Cornejo4Alejandro Benites-Bullón5Alina Goméz-Mendoza6Christoper A. Alarcon-Ruiz7Oscar Huapaya-Huertas8Sociedad Científica de Estudiantes de Medicina de La Universidad Nacional de TrujilloSociedad Científica de Estudiantes de Medicina de La Universidad Nacional de TrujilloHospital La Caleta, Ministerio de Salud (MINSA)Universidad Científica del SurComité Permanente Académico, Sociedad Científica Médico Estudiantil PeruanaEscuela de Medicina, Universidad Peruana UniónUniversidad Científica del SurUnidad de Investigación Para La Generación Y Síntesis de Evidencia en Salud, Universidad San Ignacio de LoyolaUniversidad Científica del SurAbstract Background Telemedicine has become more relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, medical students and professionals do not acquire competences in telemedicine during their training. Our objective was to describe the self-reported perception and baseline knowledge of telemedicine among medical students and professionals enrolled in a virtual course. Methods Cross-sectional study that included physicians or medical students aged 18 years or older who were interested in a free virtual telemedicine course and who completed the data collection questionnaire. We used a Likert scale to assess the self-reported perceptions of four domains related to telemedicine. The participants were grouped into three levels for each domain: low, medium and high. We also objectively assessed telemedicine knowledge by means of 10 questions, with a cut-off point of 50% of correct answers. The Fisher's exact test, the Chi-square test, and the Mann–Whitney U test were used for the comparison of categorical data. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results We included 161 participants: 118 medical students and 43 physicians. We observed no significant differences between medical students and physicians in self-reported perceptions of knowledge, security, or utility of telemedicine. However, students had a high self-reported perception of the disadvantages of telemedicine especially related to patient security (p = 0.018), efficiency of care (p = 0.040), and the possibility of medical malpractice (p = 0.010) compared to physicians. Nearly half of the students (n = 53,44.9%) and physicians (n = 22,51.7%) answered 50% or more of the questions related to telemedicine knowledge correctly. Conclusion Among the physicians and medical students enrolled in the course, the students perceived the disadvantages of telemedicine more frequently. Although physicians and students have limited knowledge of telemedicine, there appears to be no influence of experience and prior training in telemedicine.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04058-xTelemedicineKnowledgeSelf-perceptionPhysiciansStudentsMedical (MeSH—NLM) |
| spellingShingle | Fabrizio M. García-Gutiérrez Francis Pino-Zavaleta Milton A. Romero-Robles Ana F. Patiño-Villena Abigail S. Jauregui-Cornejo Alejandro Benites-Bullón Alina Goméz-Mendoza Christoper A. Alarcon-Ruiz Oscar Huapaya-Huertas Self-reported perceptions and knowledge of telemedicine in medical students and professionals who enrolled in an online course in Peru BMC Medical Education Telemedicine Knowledge Self-perception Physicians Students Medical (MeSH—NLM) |
| title | Self-reported perceptions and knowledge of telemedicine in medical students and professionals who enrolled in an online course in Peru |
| title_full | Self-reported perceptions and knowledge of telemedicine in medical students and professionals who enrolled in an online course in Peru |
| title_fullStr | Self-reported perceptions and knowledge of telemedicine in medical students and professionals who enrolled in an online course in Peru |
| title_full_unstemmed | Self-reported perceptions and knowledge of telemedicine in medical students and professionals who enrolled in an online course in Peru |
| title_short | Self-reported perceptions and knowledge of telemedicine in medical students and professionals who enrolled in an online course in Peru |
| title_sort | self reported perceptions and knowledge of telemedicine in medical students and professionals who enrolled in an online course in peru |
| topic | Telemedicine Knowledge Self-perception Physicians Students Medical (MeSH—NLM) |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04058-x |
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