Octennial Review (2010-2018) of Literature on M-Learning for Promoting Distributed-Based Medical Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abdullahi Abubakar Yunusa,Brandford Bervell,Irfan Naufal Bin Umar

doi:10.19173/irrodl.v20i2.4121

Abstract

Medical education in Africa is in desperate need of reforms, evident in widespread diseases, and an inability to mobilise and train the required medical workforce to deal with these health issues. However, the exponential rise in the use of mobile technologies due to the spread of the Internet and increased telecommunication networks offer an opportunity for the transformation of medical education and practice through the deployment of mobile devices as a medium for learning and conveying health care services to the remote and resource-constrained locations of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This paper reviewed articles on the affordances of m-learning for distributed medical education in SSA published between 2010-2018. Results from 18 articles identified in the review revealed a slow-paced ascendancy of practice and research in the field; it further exposed competing priorities, infrastructural deficit, and chronic workforce shortages as the bane of m-learning implementation in the subregion. This paper makes recommendations that will enhance the growth of mobile-based distance medical education and practice in SSA.

Highlights

The advent of the Internet has led to a progressive transformation in all facets of human activities
The outcome was because four studies were from Nigeria, and one was from Ghana, while
The authors reported that world bank classification of countries in the region by income placed South Africa as an upper middle-income country while Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Botswana as lower-middle-income countries with potentials for further growth (Bervell & Umar, 2017)

Summary

Introduction

The advent of the Internet has led to a progressive transformation in all facets of human activities. Amongst these, is the impact of Internet-driven technologies that have reshaped the educational landscape. Electronic learning (e-learning) has the affordances to accommodate more people, especially those with limited access to regular schooling (Yunusa & Dalhatu, 2014) as an alternative medium to education. The increasing rate of the remote and mobile workforce has resulted in the emergence of the use of mobile technologies for communication, collaboration, and exchange of occupational knowledge practices and training. This has evolved into various forms of technology-enhanced learning solutions across human endeavour and the ubiquity of mobile devices for mobile learning is potentially more revolutionary than e-learning (Okai-Ugbaje, Ardzejewska, & Ahmed, 2017)

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Results

Conclusion