Internet use among students of a Medical College in Central India
Abstract :
Background: Though internet is being used worldwide, data on its use by medical students in developing countries is
lacking. Hence, the present study was carried out with the objective of assessing use and purpose of internet usage
among students of a Medical College in Central India. Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based
study was carried out on 300 MBBS students selected by simple random sampling from May 2012- September 2012. Data
was collected and analyzed using EpiInfo. Results: The students in the study were of age group 18-23 years. Majority of
students (98.2%) used internet by their own without any assistance, 139 (60.4%) accessed internet from home. Principle
purpose was to get general information in 73 (31.7%) students. The preferred medium for getting medical information was
textbooks in 164 (71.3%) students followed by internet in 57 (24.8%) students. Common search engine used by students
was Google 201 (87.3%) and Yahoo 11 (4.8%). Two Hundred and Seventeen (94.3%) students were of opinion that computer
knowledge is required for medical education, 140 (60.8%) thought that computer certification should be mandatory for
medical education, and 148 (64.3%) students agreed that computer education should be incorporated in medical
curriculum for optimum utilization of digital sources by students. Conclusion: The data obtained indicates that the
majority of the medical students in the present study use internet but not for medical education, hence computer
education should be incorporated in medical curriculum.
Keywords: internet, medical education
Background: Though internet is being used worldwide, data on its use by medical students in developing countries is
lacking. Hence, the present study was carried out with the objective of assessing use and purpose of internet usage
among students of a Medical College in Central India. Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based
study was carried out on 300 MBBS students selected by simple random sampling from May 2012- September 2012. Data
was collected and analyzed using EpiInfo. Results: The students in the study were of age group 18-23 years. Majority of
students (98.2%) used internet by their own without any assistance, 139 (60.4%) accessed internet from home. Principle
purpose was to get general information in 73 (31.7%) students. The preferred medium for getting medical information was
textbooks in 164 (71.3%) students followed by internet in 57 (24.8%) students. Common search engine used by students
was Google 201 (87.3%) and Yahoo 11 (4.8%). Two Hundred and Seventeen (94.3%) students were of opinion that computer
knowledge is required for medical education, 140 (60.8%) thought that computer certification should be mandatory for
medical education, and 148 (64.3%) students agreed that computer education should be incorporated in medical
curriculum for optimum utilization of digital sources by students. Conclusion: The data obtained indicates that the
majority of the medical students in the present study use internet but not for medical education, hence computer
education should be incorporated in medical curriculum.
Keywords: internet, medical education