Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Medical Education
Date Submitted: Oct 11, 2024
Open Peer Review Period: Oct 11, 2024 - Dec 6, 2024
Date Accepted: May 12, 2025
Date Submitted to PubMed: May 19, 2025
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
The Evolution of Medical Student Competencies and Attitudes in Digital Health between 2016-2022: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Modern healthcare systems worldwide are facing challenges, and digitalization is viewed as a means to strengthen healthcare globally. As digitalization in healthcare demands adjustments in practices, policies, and workflows, assessing healthcare professionals' competencies is crucial for effective integration into their work environment.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to analyse how the attitudes, skills and knowledge of medical student concerning eHealth and healthcare digitalization have shifted from 2016 to 2022 in connection with the development of the national healthcare information system architecture utilizing the Clinical Adoption Meta-Model framework.
Methods:
The research population consisted of fifth-year medical students from one University in Finland during 2016, 2021 and 2022. A survey questionnaire was administered which comprised seven background questions and 16 statements measured on a five-point Likert scale assessing students’ attitudes towards eHealth and their digital capabilities. The results were recategorized into a dichotomous scale and presented using frequencies and percentages. The statistical analysis employed a Pearson’s chi-square test.
Results:
The study involved 215 medical students (n = 45 in 2016, n = 106 in 2021, and n = 64 in 2022). Overall, the medical students displayed positive attitudes towards the use of digital applications in healthcare. Knowledge about the national health information exchange service has significantly improved over time. Despite positive changes in skills and attitudes among students, recent observations also indicate a more reserved stance towards healthcare digitalization.
Conclusions:
There has been a positive shift in the digital competence and attitudes of medical students over the years, potentially influenced by the development of the national health information system architecture. Highlighting digital health topics and interdisciplinary teaching in basic medical education is essential to foster innovation and to ensure future doctors possess a high level of digital competence.
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.