JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The rapid integration of digital technologies in healthcare has emphasised the need to ensure medical students are well-equipped with the knowledge and competencies related to digital health.

Objective:

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the "Digital Health" curriculum at our university on the perceptions of medical students regarding the relevance of digital health topics for their future professions and their self-assessed competence in these areas.

Methods:

The "Digital Health" curriculum was introduced at a German university for two consecutive semesters, addressing the main topics: digital didactics, digital communication, management/ digital leadership and robotics / artificial intelligence (AI). We used a mixed methods approach with evaluating quantitive and qualitative data. The perceived relevance of these topics for their future careers and their subjective competence were evaluated before and after the curriculum using a Likert scale. Furthermore, the practical gamification-based teaching part of the robotics teaching unit was evaluated. Six months after completing the last semester, a follow-up analysis was carried out with questions on the significance of the completed curriculum for current and future professional challenges regarding digital health.

Results:

20 students participated, with 65% being female. In particular, data protection and information security were considered the most relevant topics both before and after the curriculum. Significant increases in perceived importance were observed for wearables (mean increase of 1.5, p<0.001) and telemedicine (mean increase of 1.1, p<0.001). Regarding self-assessed competence, significant gains were observed on almost all topics. The greatest gains were observed in robotics (mean increase of 1.8, p<0.001), open educational resources (mean increase of 1.7, p<0.001), and simulation training (mean increase of 1.6, p<0.001). The gamification-based teaching unit was predominantly rated suitable and was very enjoyable for the students.

Conclusions:

The curriculum significantly influenced students' perceptions of digital health, revealing a gap between the increasing importance of topics such as telemedicine in real-world settings and their initial undervaluation by students. The results also highlight the potential to integrate more innovative teaching methods, such as gamification and simulation-based teaching for a technologically advanced healthcare environment. Lastly, the overarching importance of wearables signals the need to further integrate them, given their potential in remote monitoring and personalised medicine.