Open Access
Subscription Access
Open Access
Subscription Access
Internet Use among Medical Students in an Institution in South India
Subscribe/Renew Journal
Background: The Internet plays a crucial role in access to information resources and has got many implications in the field of medicine and health. The use of internet is increasing among medical students for various purposes, therefore we carried out a cross sectional study among undergraduate students, with the objective of assessing the pattern of internet use in Melmaruvathur, Tamilnadu, South India.
Methods: A self administered, pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was administered to a group of 285 undergraduate medical students. The information obtained includes the socio-demographic profile of students, access to internet, frequency and purpose of use. Data analysis was done using SPSS v16.
Results: Among 285 study participants, majority, 51.2 % were in the age group 18 - 19 years with a mean age of 17.94 years. Female students were more among them, 51.9%. Overall, 84.9% of the students had experience with internet use. Among them, 55.4% were using it regularly and 28% occasionally. Library (44.2%) was the most preferred place to use internet services, followed by hostel (26.7%) and home (23.5%). About half of the students, 50.2% were using internet for personal purposes and 30% for academic purposes with remaining using it for both. Regarding personal use, entertainment and social networking activities are used by most of the students. Google was the most preferred search engine used by 75.8% of the students and majority (87.7%) felt that information communication technology tools would be useful for academic and learning activities. Significant relationship between gender and purpose of internet use ( p<0.01) was noted among the students.
Conclusion: Majority of the students had experience with internet use, but the frequency, purpose and pattern of use is variable, with less realization of internet as a learning tool. More internet facilities should be available and accessible in medical institutions and should equip the students with adequate skills for better utilization of internet resources.
Keywords
- Glowniak J. History, structure and function of the Internet. Seminars in nuclear medicine, 1998, 28: 135 – 44.
- Wohlers M. Health Information on the Internet: Retrieval and Assessment strategies for consumers. Health Issues. 2000; 64: 26 – 31.
- Towle A. Changes in health care and continuing medical education for the 21st century. BMJ 1998; 316:301-4.
- McConnell J. Getting more out of the worldwide web. Lancet, 1998, 351(Suppl.1):3-4.
- Demiris G, Afrin LB, Speedie S, Courtney KL, Sondhi M, Vimarlund V, Lovis C, Goossen W, Lynch C: Patient-centered applications: use of information technology to promote disease management and wellness. A white paper by the AMIA knowledge in motion working group. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2008, 15(1):8-13
- Duffy M. The Internet as a research and dissemination resource. Health promotion international, 2000, 15:349-53
- Unnikrishnan B, Kulshrestha V, Saraf A, Agrahari A C, Prakash S, Samantaray L, Parida A. Pattern of computer and internet use among medical students in Coastal South India. South East Asian Journal of Medical Education, Vol. 2 no. 2, 2008.
- Jadoon et al: Evaluation of internet access and utilization by medical students in Lahore, Pakistan. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 2011 11:37.
- Obst F. Use of internet resources by German medical professionals. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1998; 86(4):528-33.
- Dorup J. Experience and attitudes towards information technology among first-year medical students in Denmark: longitudinal questionnaire survey. J Med Internet Res. 2004; 6(1):e10.
- Virtanen JI and Nieminen P. Information and communication technology among undergraduate dental students in Finland. Eur J Dent Educ. 2002; 6(4):147-52.
- Nauman AJ, Mansoor H, Mohammad AS, Rehan Y, Ali R, Tehreem R, Naseema A. Internet use among students of Nishtar Medical College, Multan. NMJ 2009; 1(4):24-28
- Ajuwon GA. Computer and internet use by first year clinical and nursing students in a Nigerian teaching hospital. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2003; 3:10.
- Nurjahan MI, Lim TA, Yeong SW, Foong AL, Ware J. Utilization of information technology in medical education: a questionnaire survey of students in a Malaysian institution. Med J Malaysia 2002; 57(Suppl E):58-66.
- Komerik N. Use of the Internet among dental students in Turkey. J Dent Educ. 2005;69(4): 470-475.
- Samuel M, Coombes JC, Miranda JJ et al. Assessing computer skills in Tanzanian medical students: an elective experience. BMC Public Health. 2004; 4:37.
- Mansor I. Computer skills among medical learners: a survey at King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah. J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad. 2002; 14(3):13-5.
- Mattheos N, Nattestad A, Schittek M et al. Computer literacy and attitudes among students in 16 European dental schools: current aspects, regional differences and future trends. Eur J Dent Educ. 2002; 6(1):30-5.
- Yildiz AN, Kilic C, Bayhan GI, Goksever H, Karaarslan O: The evaluation of the internet and computer utilization by the fourth grade medical students. Saudi Med J 2005, 26(12):2006-8
- Arora R. (2003) Computer and Information Technology Skills of First Year Medical and Dental Students at CMC Ludhiana, Health Administrator, 17(1) pp. 54 – 58.
Abstract Views: 439
PDF Views: 0