Role of digital learning in addiction psychiatry

Abstract

The context of current education is quickly evolving. The traditional design and delivery of interventions for learning are being challenged and outdated to meet the needs of today’s learners. Formal education should provide more versatile learning systems to accommodate the varying needs and demands of students. A global change is urgently required to implement a fundamental shift in the learning paradigm for the technologically driven millennial learners. This is a well-known fact, but the challenge is to explore innovative methods to use technology to attain the actual needs and expectations of these learners. With the increasing problem of substance use disorders as a public health problem and scarcity in the availability of resources for providing adequate treatment, we propose to explore the role of digital technology as a training platform in addiction psychiatry. We have reviewed the currently available platforms which are using digital tools for training in addiction psychiatry. We have also shared our experience at NIMHANS in the use of various digital platforms for training medical officers, psychiatry residents and various health professionals in the area of addiction and we feel that it is having promising scope for expansion and upscaling to generate adequate facilities to provide best practices in addiction management to the rural, remote and underserved areas of the country. However, these digital tools should augment traditional teaching methods and cannot replace them.