Digital Health Training Programs for Medical Students: Scoping Review

Abstract

Background Medical schools worldwide are accelerating the introduction of digital health courses into their curricula. The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to this swift and widespread transition to digital health and education. However, the need for digital health competencies goes beyond the COVID-19 pandemic because they are becoming essential for the delivery of effective, efficient, and safe care. Objective This review aims to collate and analyze studies evaluating digital health education for medical students to inform the development of future courses and identify areas where curricula may need to be strengthened. Methods We carried out a scoping review by following the guidance of the Joanna Briggs Institute, and the results were reported in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines. We searched 6 major bibliographic databases and gray literature sources for articles published between January 2000 and November 2019. Two authors independently screened the retrieved citations and extracted the data from the included studies. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus discussions between the authors. The findings were analyzed using thematic analysis and presented narratively. Results A total of 34 studies focusing on different digital courses were included in this review. Most of the studies (22/34, 65%) were published between 2010 and 2019 and originated in the United States (20/34, 59%). The reported digital health courses were mostly elective (20/34, 59%), were integrated into the existing curriculum (24/34, 71%), and focused mainly on medical informatics (17/34, 50%). Most of the courses targeted medical students from the first to third year (17/34, 50%), and the duration of the courses ranged from 1 hour to 3 academic years. Most of the studies (22/34, 65%) reported the use of blended education. A few of the studies (6/34, 18%) delivered courses entirely digitally by using online modules, offline learning, massive open online courses, and virtual patient simulations. The reported courses used various assessment approaches such as paper-based assessments, in-person observations, and online assessments. Most of the studies (30/34, 88%) evaluated courses mostly by using an uncontrolled before-and-after design and generally reported improvements in students’ learning outcomes. Conclusions Digital health courses reported in literature are mostly elective, focus on a single area of digital health, and lack robust evaluation. They have diverse delivery, development, and assessment approaches. There is an urgent need for high-quality studies that evaluate digital health education.

Training and education in digital psychiatry: A perspective fromAsia‐Pacificregion

“…Countries coming from WHO South‐East Asia region include India, Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand, and Pakistan. Overall, our findings indicate a poor or a lack of an adequate (both in terms of contents and dedicated teaching time) theoretical and practical training in digital psychiatry and related topics disciplines (e.g., e‐health, e‐mental health, telemedicine, telepsychiatry) across different countries here included, which is in line with previous studies (Casà et al, 2021; Cory & Stevens, 2020; Feroz et al, 2021; Jameson et al, 2011; Pinto da Costa et al, 2019; Pote et al, 2021; Tudor Car et al, 2021). However, despite the initial intent was recruiting both LMICs and upper‐middle‐income countries to compare findings and estimate whether WBI may influence the level of training, experience, and knowledge on digital psychiatry, our sample is mainly constituted by six countries, of which only Japan is included in upper‐middle‐income countries, according to the gross national income per capita as published by the World Bank (World Bank Data, 2021).…”

“…Participants who studied their psychiatric training program in Japan also reported higher K scores compared to other countries (p = .004). Participants who currently work in Japan telepsychiatry) across different countries here included, which is in line with previous studies (Casà et al, 2021;Cory & Stevens, 2020;Feroz et al, 2021;Jameson et al, 2011;Pinto da Costa et al, 2019;Pote et al, 2021;Tudor Car et al, 2021) to 5, from the least mature to the most mature digitalization process)…”

Digital health competencies in medical school education: a scoping review and Delphi method study

“…Some medical schools have implemented digital health courses, although their integration thus far has been heterogenous. In a recent scoping review of digital health courses in medical schools, the authors found that the majority of courses were elective and mainly focused on medical informatics [ 24 ]. They are thus not routinely integrated into the curriculum and tend to focus on narrow topics within digital health.…”

Piloting an Innovative Concept of e–Mental Health and mHealth Workshops With Medical Students Using a Participatory Co-design Approach and App Prototyping: Case Study

“…• Define and test outcomes of the learning success by combining subjective and objective measures based on digital health technology literacy frameworks [58]. However, note that there is a lack of randomized controlled trials in the field because workshops within elective subjects pose organizational and ethical challenges for this particular study design [59].…”