A Medical Informatics Distance-learning Course for Latin America. Translation, Implementation and Evaluation Methods

OTERO, PAULA; HERSH, WILLIAM; LUNA, DANIEL; GONZÁLEZ BERNALDO DE QUIRÓS, F.

METHODS OF INFORMATION IN MEDICINE

SCHATTAUER GMBH-VERLAG MEDIZIN NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN

Lugar: Stuttgart ; Año: 2010

0026-1270

Background: There is a growing need and interest worldwide for healthcare and informationtechnology professionals trained inmedical informatics. Distance learning technologiesare increasingly used to deliver sucheducation, but have mainly been limited tothe English language.Objective: Describe the implementation andstudent satisfaction of a medical informaticscourse delivered in Spanish for a Latin Americanaudience.Methods: The course was based on the 10 x10 program of the American Medical Infor -matics Association and Oregon Health &Science University that was translated andadapted to the Latin American setting. Results: A total of 499 individuals have enrolledin the course, and 70% have completedit. Most of the students have been healthcareprofessionals (86%), with the largest pro -portion from Argentina. Student satisfactionwith all aspects of the course was high. Afterthe initial experience and feedback from thestudents, the course has been adapted tobetter meet regional needs.Conclusion: The initial experience obtainedin training healthcare professionals in medicalinformatics in Latin America in their own languagedemonstrated that it could be usedacross the region, and this could represent amodel for disseminating knowledge of medicalinformatics across other languages andcultures