ERIC Number: EJ1419535
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-2731-5525
South African Health Sciences Students' Perspectives on Utilisation, Constraints and Future Possibilities of mHealth and E-Learning
Discover Education, v2 n1 Article 24 2023
The global COVID-19 pandemic has added considerable complexity to the education and training of health care professionals as well as patient care. Literature suggests that e-Learning and mobile health (mHealth) technologies have great potential, but research studies are sparse, especially in low- to middle-income countries. The paper presents South African health science students' perceptions of the importance, relevance, constraints and future possibilities of e-Learning and mHealth. Students from five universities participated in a modified Delphi. The first phase of student focus groups and interviews (n = 5), established baseline experiences and perceptions of e-Learning and mHealth during and post-COVID-19. These findings informed the design of an online survey (n = 155) for the second phase of the study. The majority of students were familiar with e-Learning, less so with mHealth; however most believed both to be a beneficial complement to theoretical and clinical teaching. Reasons for an integrated Learning Management System (LMS), also known as virtual learning environments, include increased flexibility, access and enhanced learning; and issues of anxiety, reduced interactivity, an absence of context and a lack of discipline- or profession-specific features as reasons against. The perceived importance of particular features of e-Learning and mHealth tools were highlighted. These findings will contribute to the redesign of online work-integrated curricula and the development of an inclusive, student-centred, health sciences-specific integrated and multi-modal LMS directed towards student-centred learning while addressing concerns around the digital divide and social justice.
Descriptors: Health Sciences, Foreign Countries, Student Attitudes, Electronic Learning, Influence of Technology, Health Services, Telecommunications, College Students, Delphi Technique, COVID-19, Pandemics, Learning Management Systems
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A