A Survey on the Use of Medical Related Applications Among Undergraduate Medical Students
[1]
Suhaasan Durai, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Melaka, Malaysia.
[2]
Kirbashweni Ravibalan, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Melaka, Malaysia.
[3]
Pang Ji Hong, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Melaka, Malaysia.
[4]
Dulakshi Vidushika Fernando, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Melaka, Malaysia.
[5]
Amanda Lau Tien Li, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Melaka, Malaysia.
Medical applications are programs in smartphones, tablets and personal computers that offer services related to health. The usage of medical applications have become a tool for improving information accessibility. Both medical students and doctors have used medically related applications to improve overall patient care and to enhance activities in work place as well as for education. The research was conducted find the prevalence of medical students of Melaka Manipal medical College (MMMC) using medical related applications, and the perception of medical students towards the reliability and benefits of using such medical applications. A cross- sectional study was conducted among the students of Melaka Manipal Medical College (MMMC) semester 6, 7, 8 and 9. In total MMMC has 10 semesters in which semesters 1-5 is conducted in India for the theoretical aspect of the course, and semester 6-10 which had approximately 600 students continued in Malaysia. From the Malaysian campus semester 6 and 7 are conducted in Muar whereas semesters’ 8 through 10 are conducted Melaka. The sample size for this study includes students only from semester 6 and 8, which consist of approximately 300 students to assess their perception towards medical related applications. Based on the data collected and analyzed, it was found of that 76.98% of medical students owned a medical related application and out of which 78.28% of them owned between 1-5 medical related applications with the most commonly used application being Medscape. The study also included a survey to access the preference of students using medical applications and found, learning new knowledge had the highest response. It also showed; Malaysian are significantly less likely to use a medical related application on a day to day basis to gain knowledge compared to an international student. This study has found a large percentage of medical students own a medical related application, out of which most of them own between 1-5 applications. Most medical students perceived that the usage of medical related applications enhanced their knowledge and saves their time in obtaining information. The research has also proved that students aged 22-24 are more likely to use medical applications as opposed to other age groups especially if they happen to be a non- Malaysian with the added fact, that gender and ethnicity play no role in the outcome of the usage of medical related applications.
Medical Students, Undergraduates, Medical Related Applications, Smartphones
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