JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Advances in digital health and digital learning are transforming the lives of patients, healthcare providers, and health professional students. In the interdisciplinary field of communication sciences and disorders (CSD), digital uptake and incorporation of digital topics and technologies into clinical training programs has lagged behind other medical fields. There is a need to understand professional and student experiences, opinions, and needs regarding digital health and learning topics so that effective strategies for implementation can be optimized.

Objective:

The aim of this cross-sectional survey study was to interdisciplinarily investigate professional and student knowledge, use, attitudes, and preferences towards digital health and learning in the German-speaking world.

Methods:

An open online survey was developed and conducted with professionals and students in CSD including phoniatricians and otolaryngologists, speech-language pathologists (SLP, German: Logopäden), medical students, and speech-language pathology students. Differences in knowledge, use, attitudes, and preferences across profession, generation, and years of experience were analyzed.

Results:

A total of 170 participants completed the survey. Respondents overall demonstrated greater familiarity with digital learning as opposed to e-health concepts. Significant differences were noted across profession (P<.001), generation (P=.001), and years of experience (P<.001), which demonstrated that students and younger participants were less familiar with digital health terminology. Professional (P<.001) and generational differences were also found (P=.037) in knowledge of digital therapy tools, though no significant differences were found for digital learning tools. Participants primarily used computers, tablets, and mobile phones, non-e-health-specific software (e.g., word processing, video conferencing), and digital formats such as videos, online courses, and apps; many indicated a desire for more interactive platforms, such as virtual reality moving forward. Significant differences were found across generation for positive views towards digitalization (P<.001) and across profession for feelings of preparedness (P=.036). Interestingly, across profession (P=.032), generation (P=.006), and years of experience (P=.014), students and younger participants demonstrated greater support for medical certification. Commonly reported areas of concern included technical difficulties, quality and validity of digital materials, data privacy, and social presence. Respondents tended to prefer blended learning, a limited to moderate level of interactivity, and time-and-space-flexible learning environments (37.1%) with a notable proportion still preferring traditional time-and-space-dependent learning (28.8%).

Conclusions:

This comprehensive investigation into the current state of CSD student and professional opinions and experiences has shown that incorporation of digital topics and skills into academic and professional development curricula will be crucial to ensuring that the field is prepared for the ever-digitalizing healthcare environment. Deeper empirical investigation into efficacy and acceptance of digital learning and practice strategies and systematic training and practical organizational supports must be planned to ensure adaptive education and practice.