Mark Scarbecz, MA, PhD, is Professor and Associate Dean for Institutional Affairs, College of Dentistry, University of Tennessee Health Science Center; Edward J. DeSchepper, MAEd, DDS, MS, is Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Dentistry, University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
J Dent Educ. 2018 Dec;82(12):1287-1295. doi: 10.21815/JDE.018.135.
Dental students must be skilled in the use and application of information technology (IT), but there are few studies of IT use and knowledge among U.S. dental students. The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze survey data regarding IT use and knowledge collected from first-year dental students at one U.S. dental school in 2009, 2012, and 2017. Data were collected from an anonymous survey of these students as part of a D1 course called Informatics and Evaluation of Dental Literature. All students participated in the survey each year, for a response rate of 100%. Annual numbers of participants were 80 (2009), 90 (2012), and 97 (2017), for a total 267 respondents. The students reported that they frequently accessed Internet resources multiple times per day and that frequency of use had increased over time, principally from access via smartphones. These students reported feeling comfortable with higher education IT applications such as learning management systems and computerized testing. However, despite their frequent IT use, the students reported low levels of knowledge about IT security, and the three years of survey data showed that IT security knowledge had declined over time. These findings have implications for dental educators, including the need for methods for training students to protect their personal data and that of their patients.
牙科学生必须熟练掌握信息技术（IT）的使用和应用，但很少有研究关注美国牙科学生的 IT 使用和知识。本研究旨在回顾性分析 2009 年、2012 年和 2017 年美国一所牙科学校一年级牙科学生在信息技术使用和知识方面的调查数据。这些学生作为一门名为“信息学和牙科文献评估”的 D1 课程的一部分，通过匿名调查收集了数据。每年所有学生都参加了调查，应答率为 100%。2009 年有 80 名参与者，2012 年有 90 名，2017 年有 97 名，共有 267 名受访者。学生们报告称，他们每天频繁地多次访问互联网资源，而且使用频率随着时间的推移而增加，主要是通过智能手机访问。这些学生表示，他们对学习管理系统和计算机化测试等高等教育 IT 应用程序感到舒适。然而，尽管他们经常使用 IT，但学生们报告称，他们对 IT 安全知识的了解程度较低，并且三年的调查数据显示，IT 安全知识随着时间的推移而下降。这些发现对牙科教育者具有重要意义，包括需要培训学生保护自己和患者个人数据的方法。
