Health Literacy and Medical Education

2017 ◽  
pp. 57-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teri Turner
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Health Literacy

scholarly journals Perceptions of Digital Health Education Among European Medical Students: Mixed Methods Survey (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Machleid ◽  
Robert Kaczmarczyk ◽  
Doreen Johann ◽  
Justinas Balčiūnas ◽  
Beatriz Atienza-Carbonell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Education ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Medical Studies ◽  
Health Technologies

BACKGROUND Digital health technologies hold promise to enhance patient-related outcomes, to support health care staff by reducing their workload, and to improve the coordination of care. As key users of digital health technologies, health care workers are crucial to enable a meaningful digital transformation of health care. Digital health literacy and digital skills should become prerequisite competencies for health professionals to facilitate the implementation and leverage the potential of digital technologies to improve health. OBJECTIVE We aimed to assess European medical students’ perceived knowledge and opinions toward digital health, the status of digital health implementation in medical education, and the students’ most pressing needs. METHODS The explanatory design of our mixed methods study was based on an online, anonymous, self-administered survey targeted toward European medical students. A linear regression analysis was used to identify the influence of the year of medical studies on the responses. Additional analysis was performed by grouping the responses by the self-evaluated frequency of eHealth technology use. Written responses to four qualitative questions in the survey were analyzed using an inductive approach. RESULTS The survey received a total of 451 responses from 39 European countries, and there were respondents for every year of medical studies. The majority of respondents saw advantages in the use of digital health. While 40.6% (183/451) felt prepared to work in a digitized health care system, more than half (240/451, 53.2%) evaluated their eHealth skills as poor or very poor. Medical students considered lack of education to be the reason for this, with 84.9% (383/451) agreeing or strongly agreeing that more digital health education should be implemented in the medical curriculum. Students demanded introductory and specific eHealth courses covering data management, ethical aspects, legal frameworks, research and entrepreneurial opportunities, role in public health and health systems, communication skills, and practical training. The emphasis lay on tailoring learning to future job requirements and interprofessional education. CONCLUSIONS This study shows a lack of digital health-related formats in medical education and a perceived lack of digital health literacy among European medical students. Our findings indicate a gap between the willingness of medical students to take an active role by becoming key players in the digital transformation of health care and the education that they receive through their faculties.

scholarly journals Attitudes towards COVID-19 precautionary measures and willingness to work during an outbreak among medical students in Singapore: a mixed-methods study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tricia Jia Wen Koh ◽  
Abel Ho Zhi Ling ◽  
Christine Li Ling Chiang ◽  
Gabriel Sheng Jie Lee ◽  
Hannah Si En Tay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Pandemic Preparedness ◽  
Perceived Efficacy ◽  
Hospital Capacity ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Education Needs ◽  
Precautionary Measures

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed challenges that medical students face when healthcare systems are under intense pressure. There is a need to assess medical students’ education needs in pandemic preparedness. The objective of this mixed-methods study was threefold: (1) to assess COVID-19 perceived efficacy, susceptibility, and anxiety in relation to health literacy; (2) to describe attitudes towards a policy of precautionary measures against COVID-19 and willingness to work during an outbreak; and (3) to examine multilevel factors associated with willingness to work. Methods An online survey was conducted among 263 medical students in Singapore during the lockdown period in July 2020. Participants were surveyed on COVID-19 related literacy, perceptions, anxiety, attitudes towards a policy of precautionary measures, and willingness to work during an outbreak. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine the factors associated with the key outcome variable of willingness to work. In addition, open-ended questions were used to assess medical education needs, which were reported using thematic analysis. Results Perceived adequacy of COVID-19 information was associated with higher perceived efficacy, lower perceived susceptibility, and lower anxiety levels among the students. Medical students were mostly supportive of COVID-19 precautionary measures except for relatively intrusive measures like in-home surveillance. The degree of willingness to work during an outbreak varied based on certain conditions, in particular family’s health and safety, and was associated with self-efficacy, perceived susceptibility, and hospital capacity of outbreak management. Conclusions Medical students’ attitudes towards a policy of precautionary measures varied depending on legality, financial and psychological support, and privacy concerns. Health literacy played an important role in increasing the efficacy of protection against COVID-19 and reducing pandemic-related anxiety among medical students. Their willingness to work during an outbreak was increased by an effective policy of precautionary measures, hospital capacity to manage a pandemic, and assurance of family safety. Medical education should include pandemic preparedness to better prepare students to aid in pandemics, with emphasis on public health policy and ethics coupled with clinical training targeted to managing outbreaks.

scholarly journals Perceptions of Digital Health Education Among European Medical Students: Mixed Methods Survey

10.2196/19827 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. e19827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Machleid ◽  
Robert Kaczmarczyk ◽  
Doreen Johann ◽  
Justinas Balčiūnas ◽  
Beatriz Atienza-Carbonell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Education ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Medical Studies ◽  
Health Technologies

Background Digital health technologies hold promise to enhance patient-related outcomes, to support health care staff by reducing their workload, and to improve the coordination of care. As key users of digital health technologies, health care workers are crucial to enable a meaningful digital transformation of health care. Digital health literacy and digital skills should become prerequisite competencies for health professionals to facilitate the implementation and leverage the potential of digital technologies to improve health. Objective We aimed to assess European medical students’ perceived knowledge and opinions toward digital health, the status of digital health implementation in medical education, and the students’ most pressing needs. Methods The explanatory design of our mixed methods study was based on an online, anonymous, self-administered survey targeted toward European medical students. A linear regression analysis was used to identify the influence of the year of medical studies on the responses. Additional analysis was performed by grouping the responses by the self-evaluated frequency of eHealth technology use. Written responses to four qualitative questions in the survey were analyzed using an inductive approach. Results The survey received a total of 451 responses from 39 European countries, and there were respondents for every year of medical studies. The majority of respondents saw advantages in the use of digital health. While 40.6% (183/451) felt prepared to work in a digitized health care system, more than half (240/451, 53.2%) evaluated their eHealth skills as poor or very poor. Medical students considered lack of education to be the reason for this, with 84.9% (383/451) agreeing or strongly agreeing that more digital health education should be implemented in the medical curriculum. Students demanded introductory and specific eHealth courses covering data management, ethical aspects, legal frameworks, research and entrepreneurial opportunities, role in public health and health systems, communication skills, and practical training. The emphasis lay on tailoring learning to future job requirements and interprofessional education. Conclusions This study shows a lack of digital health-related formats in medical education and a perceived lack of digital health literacy among European medical students. Our findings indicate a gap between the willingness of medical students to take an active role by becoming key players in the digital transformation of health care and the education that they receive through their faculties.

scholarly journals The role of communication and oral health literacy in prevention and promotion of oral health

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-57
Author(s):  
Lidushka Vasileska ◽  
Elena Kosevska ◽  
Tanja Lekovska Stoicovska ◽  
Vjosa Rechica
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Education ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Patient Population ◽  
Effective Communication ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Oral Health Literacy ◽  
Health And Well Being

  Dental care prevention involves prophylactic oral health practices and strategies that are primarily targeted to diseases of the oral tissues with the focus on prevention of certain conditions. Not enough attention has been given to the communication between the dentist and the patient as well as the ability or the inability to understand patient's health information. The aim of this paper is to present the current practices and regulations related to the effective communication between oral healthcare professionals and patient population, and their representation and influence in improving and raising the profile of the oral health on a national level. Materials and method:A systematic literature search was conducted including published scientific articles between 1977 and 2018. Studies discussing the improvement of oral health in the function of general health and well-being in the patient population of all ages were analyzed. The main focus was put on the commitment of the oral health community in the global agenda and the importance of integrating multifactorial approaches to prevention. Particular attention was paid to the representation of the skills for effective communication between health care professionals and patient population, and the medical education (health education), which should result in the individual's health literacy. Results: During the global struggle to improve the oral health, efforts are being made to enhance current practices and share knowledge about preventive care and treatment in oral health science and education in order to ensure the general health and well-being of the patient population of all ages. Unfortunately, the commitment to take action in raising effective communication and oral health literacy is minimal. Conclusion: Improving the communication between the oral health care professionals and the patient population in the direction of an interactive, dynamic and flexible process, as well as raising the level of oral health literacy among the population through targeted and carefully developed medical education should be the first step in any preventive program for raising the level of oral health.

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