Digital applications as a didactic tool for the study of medical parasitology

Abstract

Introduction: The use of electronic applications (app) in medical education, has demonstrated to facilitate learning, as it allows immediate access to knowledge at any time and in any place.

Objective: Developed and assessed an app for the study of morphology and the biological cycle of the Toxoplasma gondii parasite, for the students of the Parasitology module of the academic subject Microbiology and Parasitology of the of the Faculty of Medicine, UNAM, in order to reinforce and include data of the toxoplasmosis disease that is one of the most complex parasitosis being studied in this module.

Method: The app was developed at the Departamento de Visualización y Realidad Virtual (DVRV), Dirección de Cómputo y Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación (DGTIC), UNAM. Its use was assessed through a user satisfaction survey that was applied to the module´s alumni using a criteria variable of satisfaction corresponding to the Satisfaction scale of the Spanish version of the Distance Education Learning Survey. The inner consistency for the tools was calculated with the Cronbach Alpha test.
In order to identify the structure of the tool, the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used with a Varimax and Kaiser Normalization rotation.

Results: The results in the PCA showed an appropriate sample adequacy and pertinent elements in the analyzed tool. The inner consistency for the tool showed a standardized value of 0.87, which provides evidence to assure that the items measure the same construct related with the pattern of answers among themselves.

Conclusion: The app was welcome by students and served its purpose. The students' answers will allow us to improve the design of future apps to study medical parasitology.