Pattern of computer and internet use among medical students in ...

DiscussionComputer ownershipAll the participants were found to use computersfor varying purposes. Among them 79% 1 st and2 nd year medical students had their owncomputer, which is less than among collegestudents of America (85%)(Jones, 2002) butmore than the 48.9% of first year medical anddental students of Ludhiana, India. (Arora,2003). The reason for higher proportion ofstudents possessing computers in our studymight be due to affordability as our study wascarried out in private medical colleges.Purpose of computer useIn the study, we found that 69.5% of 1 st and 2 ndyear medical students use computers forentertainment; whereas the majority ofpostgraduates/interns used it for generalinformation, thesis and research work. A studyconducted in Jammu, India (Sharma et al. 2006)revealed that 52% undergraduates usedcomputers for entertainment and 80%postgraduates used it for thesis and researchwork. The association between year of studyand purpose of computer use was found to bestatistically significant. The use of computers forentertainment is decreasing and use for generalinformation and thesis and research isincreasing from the first year to subsequentyears. The reason for this is perhaps becausemedical students in their final year do smallresearch projects and in the postgraduatetudies, thesis/research component ismandatory.Place and computer useIn this study, we found that a majority (62%) of1 st and 2 nd year medical students use computersat home or hostel, while only 13% use it in cybercafes; whereas, in a study conducted atLudhiana, India (Arora, 2003) 48.9% studentswere found to use computers at home or hostelsand similar percentage 48.9% used it in cybercafes. This difference may be because ofaffordability of the students as this study wascarried out in private medical colleges.Preferred medium for getting requiredinformationThe preferred medium for getting informationamong both undergraduates and postgraduatesin the present study was the internet (42%)followed by textbooks (24%). This indicates thatthe use of the internet is increasing for gettingrequired information. These findings are quitedifferent from the study conducted in Jammu,India (Sharma et al. 2006), which revealed that75% undergraduates preferred textbooks forgetting required information. The differencebetween the findings of these studies may bedue to the increasing access to computersamong undergraduates as many institutions areproviding computers to undergraduates. Thereason for this is better infrastructure in privatemedical schools in comparison with that ofgovernment run medical schools, as in privatemedical schools the students have to pay for thefacilities.Internet accessIt was seen that the majority of 1 st and 2 nd yearmedical students (82%) first started using theInternet at home before arriving at college. In astudy conducted in America (Jones, 2002) foundthat about 49% students first began using theInternet in college, while 47% students firststarted using it at home before arriving atcollege. This difference may be due toincreasing access to the internet in India duringthe last few years.Internet useWe found that the majority of students use theinternet for information of recent advances inmedicine. A majority of 1 st and 2 nd year medicalstudents were found to use the internet forsocial communication (50.5%) and entertainment(27%). These figures are slightly higher than thefindings of the study conducted in America(Jones, 2002) where 42% college students werefound to use the Internet primarily tocommunicate socially and about 10% forentertainment. In the study only 9.5% 1 st and 2 ndyear medical students were found to use theinternet to engage in work for classes. Duringsubsequent years of study the use of theinternet for this purpose is increasing with 21%among pre final and final year medical studentsand 19% among postgraduates/interns. Thismay be because as students progress tosubsequent years the work load increases andthey can not find time for entertainment.Commonly accessed sitesIn our study, we found that PubMed and otherjournal sites are accessed by only 4% first yearmedical students. During subsequent years ofstudy, the use for this purpose is increasing andabout 33% postgraduates/ interns commonlyaccessed PubMed and other journal sites. Thisis because the first year students are unawareabout research publications and mostly get therequired information from textbooks andresearch is the lowest priority among 1 st yearmedical students. Use of the internet is forentertainment purpose mainly by accessingsites like Google, Yahoo, Orkut, etc.Computer assisted teachingIn this study, it was found that a large majority(92.5%) of 1 st and 2 nd year medical students and98% postgraduates/ interns advocated thatcomputer and the internet use should beencouraged in teaching institutions which iscomparable with the study done in Jammu,India (Sharma et al.,2006). Computer assistedteaching is gaining importance in the medicalfield as students can be shown variousprocedures, demonstrations, surgeries and alsofor E- learning purposes.- 24 -South East Asian Journal of Medical EducationVol. 2 no 2, 2008