title: Using low-cost Android tablets and instructional videos to teach clinical skills to medical students in Kenya: a prospective study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the feasibility and impact of using a low-cost Android tablet to deliver clinical skills training to third-year medical students in Kenya.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective study using a low cost tablet called 'connecTAB', which was designed and manufactured specifically for areas with low bandwidth. Instructional video tutorials demonstrating techniques of cardiovascular and abdominal clinical examinations were pre-loaded onto the tablet.
  
  
  METHODS
  Maseno University School of Medicine, Western Kenya.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-one third-year medical students from Maseno University School of Medicine were subjects in the study. Twenty-five students were assigned to the intervention group and 26 to the control group.
  
  
  METHODS
  At the start of the study, students from both groups completed an Observed Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) of the cardiovascular and abdominal evaluations. Students who were allocated to the intervention group then received the connecTAB, whereas students in the control group did not. After a period of three weeks, students from both groups completed a post-study OSCE for both the cardiovascular and abdominal evaluations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were significantly higher improvements in the scores for both cardiovascular and abdominal examinations (p < 0.001) within the group who received the e-tablets as compared to the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study suggests that access to connecTAB improves clinical education and efficacy and holds promise for international training in both medical and allied healthcare professional spheres in resource-limited settings.
authors.affiliation: Newcastle University Medical School, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE2 4HH, UK; Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: O'Donovan
authors.affiliation: Division of Global Health and Human Rights, Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Roy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Division of Global Health and Human Rights, Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Brett D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Calvin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kagan
authors.affiliation: Division of Global Health and Human Rights, Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Burke
keywords: clinical examination; e-learning; mHealth