Veikkolainen Paula, Tuovinen Timo, Kulmala Petri, Jarva Erika, Juntunen Jonna, Tuomikoski Anna-Maria, Männistö Merja, Pihlajasalo Teemu, Reponen Jarmo
FinnTelemedicum, Research Unit of Health Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Aapistie 5a, Oulu, 90220, Finland, 358 29 4480000.
Medical Research Center, the Wellbeing Services County of North Ostrobothnia and the University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
JMIR Med Educ. 2025 Jul 31;11:e67423. doi: 10.2196/67423.
Modern health care systems worldwide are facing challenges, and digitalization is viewed as a way to strengthen health care globally. As health care systems become more digital, it is essential to assess health care professionals' competencies and skills to ensure they can adapt to new practices, policies, and workflows effectively.
The aim of this study was to analyze how the attitudes, skills, and knowledge of medical students concerning digital health have shifted from 2016 to 2022 in connection with the development of the national health care information system architecture using the clinical adoption meta-model framework.
The study population consisted of 5th-year medical students from the University of Oulu in Finland during 2016, 2021, and 2022. A survey questionnaire was administered comprising 7 background questions and 16 statements rated on a 5-point Likert scale assessing students' attitudes toward digital health and their self-perceived digital capabilities. The results were recategorized into a dichotomous scale. The statistical analysis used Pearson χ2 test. The Benjamini-Hochberg procedure was used for multiple variable correction.
The study included 215 medical students (n=45 in 2016, n=106 in 2021, and n=64 in 2022) with an overall response rate of 53% (43% in 2016, 74% in 2021, and 42% in 2022). Throughout 2016, 2021, and 2022, medical students maintained positive attitudes toward using patient-generated information and digital applications in patient care. Their self-perceived knowledge of the national patient portal significantly improved, with agreement increasing by 35 percentage points from 2016 to 2021 (P<.001) and this trend continued in 2022 (P<.001). However, their perceived skills in using electronic medical records did not show significant changes. Additionally, students' perceptions of the impact of digitalization on health promotion improved markedly from 2016 to 2021 (with agreement rising from 53% to 78%, P=.002) but declined notably again by 2022.
Medical students' attitudes and self-perceived competencies have shifted over the years, potentially influenced by the national health information system architecture developments. However, these positive changes have not followed a completely linear trajectory. To address these gaps, educational institutions and policy makers should integrate more digital health topics into medical curricula and provide practical experience with digital technologies to keep professionals up-to-date with the evolving health care environment.
全球现代医疗保健系统正面临挑战，数字化被视为加强全球医疗保健的一种方式。随着医疗保健系统变得更加数字化，评估医疗保健专业人员的能力和技能以确保他们能够有效适应新的实践、政策和工作流程至关重要。
本研究的目的是分析2016年至2022年期间，使用临床采用元模型框架，随着国家医疗保健信息系统架构的发展，医学生对数字健康的态度、技能和知识是如何转变的。
研究对象为2016年、2021年和2022年芬兰奥卢大学的五年级医学生。发放了一份调查问卷，包括7个背景问题和16条陈述，这些陈述采用5点李克特量表进行评分，以评估学生对数字健康的态度及其自我感知的数字能力。结果被重新分类为二分制量表。统计分析采用Pearson χ2检验。使用Benjamini-Hochberg程序进行多变量校正。
该研究纳入了215名医学生（2016年45名，2021年106名，2022年64名），总体回复率为53%（2016年43%，2021年74%，2022年42%）。在2016年、2021年和2022年期间，医学生对在患者护理中使用患者生成的信息和数字应用程序一直保持积极态度。他们对国家患者门户网站的自我感知知识显著提高，从2016年到2021年，认同率提高了35个百分点（P<.001），这一趋势在2022年继续（P<.001）。然而，他们在使用电子病历方面的感知技能没有显著变化。此外，学生对数字化对健康促进影响的认知从2016年到2021年有显著改善（认同率从53%上升到78%，P=.002），但到2022年又显著下降。
多年来，医学生的态度和自我感知能力发生了变化，可能受到国家健康信息系统架构发展的影响。然而，这些积极变化并未遵循完全线性的轨迹。为了弥补这些差距，教育机构和政策制定者应将更多数字健康主题纳入医学课程，并提供数字技术的实践经验，以使专业人员跟上不断变化的医疗保健环境。
