RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Biomedical Informatics (BMI) education in medical schools is developing a sound curricular base, but there are few published reports of their educational usefulness. The goal of this paper is to assess knowledge change and satisfaction in medical students after a BMI curriculum. METHODS: The National Autonomous University of México Faculty of Medicine (UNAM) recently implemented a curricular reform that includes two BMI sequential courses (BMI-1 and BMI-2). The research design was one-group pretest-posttest. An objective test with evidence of validity was used for knowledge measurement. A satisfaction questionnaire was applied at the end of the courses. Two-tailed paired Student's t-tests were applied, comparing knowledge scores in the pre and post-test for each course. RESULTS: The study included student cohorts during two consecutive academic years. The 2013 BMI-1 course (n = 986 students) knowledge pretest score was 43.0 ± 8.6 (mean percent correct ± SD), and the post-test score was 57.7 ± 10.3 (p < 0.001); the 2014 BMI-1 (n = 907) pretest score was 43.7 ± 8.5, and the post-test was 58.1 ± 10.5 (p < 0.001). The 2012 BMI-2 course (n = 683) pretest score was 26.3 ± 7.9, the post-test score was 44.3 ± 13.3 (p < 0.001); the 2013 BMI-2 (n = 926) pretest score was 27.5 ± 7.5, and the post-test was 42.0 ± 11.0 (p < 0.001). The overall opinion of the students regarding the course was from good to excellent, with a response rate higher than 90%. The satisfaction questionnaires had high reliability (Cronbach's alpha of 0.93). CONCLUSIONS: The study shows a significant increase in BMI knowledge after an educational intervention in four medical student cohorts, and an overall positive evaluation by the students. Long-term follow-up is needed, as well as controlled studies of BMI educational interventions using performance endpoints.
Assuntos
Currículo , Países em Desenvolvimento , Educação Médica , Avaliação Educacional , Docentes de Medicina , Informática Médica/educação , Atitude do Pessoal de Saúde , Estudos de Coortes , Técnicas de Apoio para a Decisão , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , México , Modelos Educacionais , Adulto JovemRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Describe the clinical, metabolic and psychosocial characteristics observed among patients with early onset type 2 diabetes (T2DM). METHODS: We included 80 consecutive patients with early onset T2DM. All had a medical record, completed a battery of questionnaires and had blood and urine tests. RESULTS: Mean age was 49 +/- 12 years, 57.5% were women, 76.2% had a family history of diabetes and 68.8% a personal history of obesity. Diabetes was diagnosed at the mean age of 32 +/- 6 years with a mean duration of 17 +/- 11 years. Most patients (66.2%) were on poor glycemic control (Alc > 9.0%) and 30% were depressed. Insulin was commonly needed (80% of the patients) and started on average 9 years after diagnosis Significant diabetes related complications were common (71.3% of patients). A longer diabetes duration was the variable most significantly associated with developing complications (p < 0.00001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with early onset T2DM constitute 27.8% of the total number of diabetic patients attending our clinic; they are characterized by a stronger family history of diabetes, a personal history of obesity and co-morbidities associated with metabolic syndrome. Longer disease course and poor glycemic control contribute to a high prevalence of diabetes related complications and high rates of mortality.