Wilson Tumuhimbise, Stefanie Theuring, Esther C. Atukunda, Mugyenyi R. Godfrey, Doreen Babirye, Fred Kaggwa, Mwavu Rogers, Kizza Gerald, Rebecca Nuwematsiko, Irene Wanyana, Daniel Atwine, Nelson Twinamasiko, John Paul Bagala, Richard Mugahi, Geoffrey Namara, Joseph Ngonzi, Rhoda Wanyenze, Juliet N. Sekandi & Angella Musiimenta
Background: The global strategy for digital health advocates digital health literacy in formal education and training curricula for all health professionals. However, little is known about the enablers and challenges of integrating digital health into medical training curricula.
Methods: Guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review methodology, we searched the PubMed, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect scholarly databases for peer-reviewed articles published between 2014 and 2024. Data extraction was guided by the consolidated framework for implementation research.
Results: Thirty studies met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. The enablers identified include the need for healthcare digitalization, reshaping the future daily work of healthcare professionals, decreasing students’ doubts about digital health and increasing the quality of patients’ care. On the other hand, a lack of infrastructure and educational materials, the dense nature of the existing curriculum, and bureaucratic tendencies were identified as challenges. The provision of consolidated funds and the establishment of dedicated digital health infrastructure, starting with elective and audited modular approaches, raising awareness, and educating stakeholders, emerged as implementation strategies for mitigating these challenges.
Conclusion: Global progress toward integrating digital health literacy in formal medical training curricula remains slow. There is a need for concerted efforts and political commitment to offer guidance and moral and financial support for this integration.
Contributions to the literature
Despite the need for training institutions to establish and provide lifelong learning opportunities for digital health technologies, medical education remains insufficiently focused on digital health.
Although several studies have documented the integration of digital health training in medical curricula, the process cannot be successful unless bottlenecks are identified and mechanisms are put in place to address them.
This review uses the CFIR and ERIC implementation frameworks to identify enablers, challenges, and potential implementation strategies for addressing the identified challenges.
Concerted efforts and political commitments from governments and international organizations are urgently needed to establish standards, policy frameworks, and guidelines for this integration.
Funding source: No funding was received to support this work. Dr. Angella Musiimenta is supported by a grant from NIH R21HD107985. Wilson Tumuhimbise, Stefanie Thuring, Angella Musiimenta, and Rebecca Nuwematsiko are supported by a grant from DFG Award Number 508670359
Contacts: Tumuhimbise Wilson and Dr Daniel Atwine
Start date: August 2024
Article Link: https://link.springer.com/