ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Based on the needs of the health system, continuous revising and monitoring are essential for General Practice (GP) Curriculum. The present study was conducted to investigate the diseases of GP Curriculum based on the students' and professors' viewpoints. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in 2018. A total of 80 GP students of internship and 71 professors of the faculty of medicine in clinical and basic science disciplines were enrolled in the study using quota and convenience sampling methods, respectively. Two self-made, reliable, and validated 4-point scale questionnaires (ranging from totally agree to totally disagree) were used to collect the data on the viewpoints of students and professors on the diseases of GP curriculum. The mean score and percentage of agreement between professors and students on the incidence of each disease were calculated. RESULTS: The highest and lowest rates of agreement between the professors and students in terms of the presence of curriculum diseases belonged to the echolalia curriculum with a mean and standard deviation of 1.92±0.68 and the dean denial with a mean and standard deviation of 2.0±6.68, respectively. The results showed a statistically significant difference between the viewpoints of professors and students regarding the diseases of the carcinoma of the curriculum (P<0.001), idiopathic colitis (P<0.001), the schizophrenia of the curriculum (P=0.01), and echolalia curriculum (P=0.01). CONCLUSION: The present study showed that professors and students were all in agreement about 12 out of 13 diseases of the GP curriculum. Thus, educational planners in Iran's medical schools should focus on the continuous evaluation and the necessity of curriculum revision, as one of the priorities of the educational system.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this article is to explore the educational needs and design aspects of personalised internet-enabled education for patients with diabetes in Iran. DESIGN: Data were collected using semistructured interviews and then qualitatively analysed using inductive content analysis. PARTICIPANTS: 9 patients with type 2 diabetes were included. Inclusion criteria were access to and knowledge on how to use the internet. The selection ensured representation based on gender, age, occupation and educational background. SETTING: The sample population was patients with diabetes who were admitted to an outpatient diabetes clinic in Mashhad, a large city of Iran with about 3 million inhabitants. RESULTS: 4 core categories emerged from the data: (1) seeking knowledge about diabetes, including specific knowledge acquisition, patient's interactions and learning requirements; (2) teaching and learning, including using different teaching methods and different ways to learn about the disease; (3) facilitators, including internet and mobile phone use to learn about the disease; and (4) barriers, including lack of internet access, uncertainty of access to the internet and lack of website in the local language and also perceived cultural barriers, such as patients' fears of the internet, lack of time and awareness. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a better understanding of the patient's educational expectations and technical needs in relation to internet-enabled education. This knowledge will inform the development of functional mock-ups in the next research phase using a design-based research approach in order to design internet-enabled patient education for self-management of diabetes.