A study of knowledge attitude and practices of faculty members of Govt. Medical College Amritsar regarding the use of computers

Dr.Kamalpreet Banga: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Community Medicine, SGRDIMSAR, Amritsar,

Dr.A.S.Padda: Professor & Head , Dept. of Community Medicine, G.M.C., Amritsar.

Abstract

What is the present level of knowledge of the faculty members of Govt. Medical College, Amritsar regarding the use of computers and what is their attitude towards learning computers?

Objective(S):

Setting: Faculty Members working in Govt. Medical College, Amritsar

Study Design : Cross – Sectional.

Sample Size : 95 faculty members (Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors) from all the specialties.

Study Variables : Hardware and Software components, types of computers, tools of communication, full forms of commonly used terms like e-mail, CD-ROM, MEDLINE, MEDLARS etc., attitude for joining the computer training program, duration of training they would prefer, type of proficiency they expect after training.

Statistical Analysis: Percentage, t- test, chi-square test.

Results : Majority 63(66.3%) were conversant while 32(33.7%) were not conversant. Less than half 45(47.4%) of the faculty members had used computers earlier. Their knowledge regarding the computer parts like types of computers, hardware and software components, tools of communication and some full forms of commonly used terms like e-mail, CD-ROM, MEDLINE and MEDLARS etc, was evaluated on the basis of responses and scoring was done up to a maximum of 30 points. About 1/3 rd 36(37.9%) scored zero (0) points, only 6(6.3%) had scores between 20-30 points and rest scored between 10-19 points. Regarding attitudes, majority 91(95.8%) was in favor of joining computer-training program. Maximum 40(44%) wanted to do training program of <1 month and only 1(1.1%) of >1 year. Out of the 95 faculty members about 1/3 rd i.e. 30(33%) were not willing to contribute to the cost of computer training program whereas only 2(2.2%) were willing to pay >50% of the cost. Regarding the place of training; majority 80(87.9%) opted for college campus, 10(11%) opted for private center and mere 1(1.1%) opted for the university campus. More than half i.e. 47(51.6%) of the faculty members wanted the course to be conducted during the college hours.

Key words: computer education, doctors, knowledge, attitude, practices, faculty members, utilization, health sector, health services.

Introduction

Society is experiencing its second major revolution in less than two hundred years. The first was the industrial revolution and now the so-called electronic or information revolution .

What is information?

The most universal definition of information management comes from philosophy i.e. information is a knowledge for the purposes of taking effective action.

In health care settings information is needed to support decisions that relate to

The health of an information system depends on how well it has been defined, designed, implemented, operated and maintained. Physicians initially tend to resist implementation of hospital information system fearing loss of control over patient related decision making. However its routine use can lead to improved diagnostic and therapeutic decision making with more accessible and logical presentation of test results. The information technology today seeks to connect doctors to full range of patient care information from emergency room, labs, radiology and nursing station before making rounds It also helps in streamlined operations such as the entry of clinical orders and verification of operative reports and enabling better management of time and resources. So the time previously spent attending paperwork is used for attending patients.

Computer Networks serve four major functions i.e.

Computer conferencing enable groups or individuals who may be separated by long distances to interact and discuss topics of mutual interest. Computer conferencing is “Time Independent” and has made “Electronic Distance Education a reality”.

Moreover the amount of information in health sciences double every five years and health care workers must continuously learn the latest advances in health care. If physicians were to read everything of possible relevance, they would need to read 5,500 articles a day.

A basic problem that still has not been adequately addressed is the shortage of physicians and hospital administrators with training in medical informatics. The general failure of medical schools or schools of public health to make room for it in their curricula leaves health care providers unprepared for the information revolution that is already upon us. Too little awareness still exists about how knowledge databases and computer aids to decision making can alter the shape of medical education. Our aim is not that our doctors be computer experts but is to introduce this intelligentsia class to the recent advancements in the field of information technology, so that they can utilize this science for improving their present scenario and standards.

Thus there are four major goals which can be realized through the deployment of Multimedia Communication in Health:

It is important to note that these benefits can be achieved in a cost-effective manner only if there is a significant level of usage of the facility. Initially the level of utilization is usually low that the fixed costs significantly overweigh the variable and thus the facilities cannot be efficiently managed. With this objective, the present study was conducted to study the knowledge attitude and practices of the faculty members (Professors, Associate/ Assistant professors) working in the Govt. Medical College Amritsar, regarding the use of computers in health

Material and Methods

The present study was conducted from April 2000 to July 2000. The senior faculty members i.e. Professors, Associate Professors and Assistant Professors working in the Government Medical College, Amritsar and its attached Hospitals were interviewed. Inquiries were made regarding their proficiency in utilizing computers (annexure II), their frequency, place & reason of utilization, their willingness to join computer training program, reason for joining training program, place & duration of computer training. The information was obtained on a pretested proforma designed for the purpose (Annexure I). The proficiency levels of the participants was assessed by making inquiries about the types of computers, hardware & software components, common computer languages, tools of communication and some of the full forms of the commonly used terms (Annexure I). Each correct answer was given a positive score and the scores were evaluated from a maximum score of 30. The information thus obtained was compiled; structurally analyzed and valid conclusions were drawn.

Observations and Discussion

Demographic Profile Of The Participants

In all 95 faculty members including 41 Professors and 54 Associate/ Assistant Professors were interviewed.

Table I: Sex and designation wise distribution of the participants

Table II: Mean age, range and Standard Deviation of the participants

t value=7.47, p<0.005, highly significant

There was on obvious significant difference observed between the ages of the professors and associate/ assistant professors. This can be explained by the hierarchical of designations.

Knowledge of the Participants

Table III: Level of proficiency of the participants

X 2 =0.92 ,P>0.05, Not Significant

There was no obvious difference observed in the proficiency levels amongst the professors and associate/ assistant professors.

Table IVa: Designation wise distribution of the scores

Table IVb: Mean scores of the participants

t value=2.86, p<0.005, Significant

Out of the 95 participants 36 (38%) had scores of zero (0) and only 6 (6.3%) had scores of more than 20 out of the maximum score of 30. The mean scores obtained by the participants were 6.9 points. The mean score of the associate / assistant professors (8.8 points) was significantly higher as compared to the mean score (4.6 points) obtained by the professors.

Attitudes of the Participants Regarding Computer Training

Table V: Attitudes of the participants for joining computer training program

X 2=0.011, p>0.05, not significant

Out of the total 95 participants 91(95.7%) were in favor joining the training program, however there was no significant difference in choices of the professors and associate and assistant professors in joining computer training program.

Majority 40(44%) were in favor of doing a course of < 1 month duration, majority 57(62.6%) had professional reason for joining the computer training program. When asked about the percentage of contribution they will like to make to the cost of computer training program, almost one third i.e. 30(33%) were not in favor of any contribution as compared to 2(2.2%) participants who were willing to contribute more than 50% of the training cost.

Table VI: Duration, Reason and contribution of training program

Table VII: preferred place & time of the day for computer training

#X 2=0.165, p>0.05, Not significant $X 2=2.67, p>0.05, Not significant

When asked about the place of training maximum, 80(88%) wanted the training to be held in the college campus itself and majority i.e. 47 (51.6%) wanted it in the college hours. However no significant observation was made between the attitudes of Professors and Associate/ Assistant Professors.

Practices of the Participants

Table VIII: Practices of the participants

#X 2=0.03, p>0.05, Not significant $X 2=0.653, p>0.05, Not significant

Majority 45(47.4%) of the participants had used the computers and only 11 (11.6%) had taken computer training earlier and no significant difference was observed between the practices of the professors and associate/ assistant professors.

Table IX: Time and Place of using computers

#X 2=1.47, p>0.05, Not significant $X 2=0.06, p>0.05, Not significant

Majority 41(91.1%) of the participants had used the computers at home whereas the remaining 4(8.9%) had used the computers at other places like office, café etc. The mean time spent by the participants was 4.7 hours/ week. The scores obtained were further compared with the proficiency of the individuals. The information thus obtained is presented as below:

Table X: Comparison of the scores of the participants who have used the computers with those who have not used

The scores obtained by those who had used the computers were significantly higher than those who had not used it.

Results

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