title: A cross-sectional evaluation of computer literacy among medical students at a tertiary care teaching hospital in Mumbai, Bombay.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Computer usage capabilities of medical students for introduction of computer-aided learning have not been adequately assessed.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Cross-sectional study to evaluate computer literacy among medical students.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary care teaching hospital in Mumbai, India.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were administered a 52-question questionnaire, designed to study their background, computer resources, computer usage, activities enhancing computer skills, and attitudes toward computer-aided learning (CAL). The data was classified on the basis of sex, native place, and year of medical school, and the computer resources were compared. The computer usage and attitudes toward computer-based learning were assessed on a five-point Likert scale, to calculate Computer usage score (CUS - maximum 55, minimum 11) and Attitude score (AS - maximum 60, minimum 12). The quartile distribution among the groups with respect to the CUS and AS was compared by chi-squared tests. The correlation between CUS and AS was then tested.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eight hundred and seventy-five students agreed to participate in the study and 832 completed the questionnaire. One hundred and twenty eight questionnaires were excluded and 704 were analyzed. Outstation students had significantly lesser computer resources as compared to local students (P<0.0001). The mean CUS for local students (27.0±9.2, Mean±SD) was significantly higher than outstation students (23.2±9.05). No such difference was observed for the AS. The means of CUS and AS did not differ between males and females. The CUS and AS had positive, but weak correlations for all subgroups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The weak correlation between AS and CUS for all students could be explained by the lack of computer resources or inadequate training to use computers for learning. Providing additional resources would benefit the subset of outstation students with lesser computer resources. This weak correlation between the attitudes and practices of all students needs to be investigated. We believe that this gap can be bridged with a structured computer learning program.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, USA. tspanchabhai@hotmail.com
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Panchabhai
authors.forename: N S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Dangayach
authors.forename: V S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: C V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Patankar
authors.forename: N N
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Rege
mesh_terms: D001292:Attitude to Computers; D003197:Computer Literacy; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D012577:Schools, Medical; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult