Abstract
Background. The burden of serious fungal diseases has significantly increased in the past few decades; however, the number of health-care workers with expertise in the management of fungal diseases remains low, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aimed to evaluate the use of freely available online teaching material to enhance teaching and learning of medical mycology among medical students in Gulu University Medical School, Uganda. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional study among second year medical students undertaking Medical Mycology course on antifungal agents in the department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology in the academic year 2017-2018. The materials were synthesized and peer-reviewed by experts in fungal diseases and were made freely available on the Leading International Fungal Education website (http://www.LIFE-Worldwide.org). A local faculty in the department delivered the lectures, and pre- and posttest scores were evaluated statistically. Results. Sixty medical students participated in the study of which 78% were male. The average score was 41% for the pretest and 52% for the posttest (p<0.0001). There was no significant difference in the scores of males and females. Majority of the students gave an above-average rating for the course material; however, 54% preferred prerecorded videos. Conclusion. Using freely available online materials on medical mycology can enhance teaching and learning of medical mycology. Because of this, there is need to incorporate up-to-date information about the subject into the curriculums of medical schools especially in LMICs.
Highlights
Serious fungal diseases, occurring as a consequence of comorbid medical conditions including human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV), chronic respiratory diseases, primary immunodeficiency, and other non-HIV immunocompromising states, such as cancers, solid-organ, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and long-term corticosteroid administration, kill more than1.5 million people and affect over a billion people yearly [1, 2]
People living with HIV are at risk of opportunistic fungal infections. ere are approximately 800 HIVpositive adults with Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) annually and up to 42,000 children with PJP per year. ere are an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 cases of cryptococcal diseases annually
We hypothesized that delivering up-to-date educational materials, freely available for download online, on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of fungal diseases to heath workers in Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) would increase knowledge and awareness on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of serious fungal infections so as to improve outcomes of patients with these devastating infections
Summary
Serious fungal diseases, occurring as a consequence of comorbid medical conditions including human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV), chronic respiratory diseases (e.g., asthma, pulmonary tuberculosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), primary immunodeficiency, and other non-HIV immunocompromising states, such as cancers, solid-organ, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and long-term corticosteroid administration, kill more than. There is insufficient knowledge on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of serious fungal infections amongst health workers [5]. With the huge burden of opportunistic fungal infections and the dire need for expertise in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of these diseases in Uganda, it is prudent that the prevailing and future clinicians (clinicians in training) are equipped with an up-to-date knowledge on the management of these challenging and potentially life-threatening infections. We hypothesized that delivering up-to-date educational materials, freely available for download online, on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of fungal diseases to heath workers (including those in training) in LMICs would increase knowledge and awareness on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of serious fungal infections so as to improve outcomes of patients with these devastating infections. We aimed to evaluate the use of freely available online teaching material to enhance teaching and learning of medical mycology among medical students with three main objectives: (1) to provide up-to-date educational materials on antifungal therapy to medical students; (2) to assess the knowledge and awareness of medical students on the use of antifungal agents; and (3) to evaluate the quality, suitability, and mode of delivery of the educational materials for medical students
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