Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Computer Skills of the Faculty Members of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in Regard to the Application of Computer and Information Technology

Introduction. Today, computer and information technology serve an increasingly important role in medical education. Since the faculty members have an essential role in medical education, this study was designed to assess their knowledge, attitude and computer skills regarding the application of computer and information technology in medical education. Methods. A cross-sectional survey with stratified sampling method was carried out. 210 of the faculty members of all the faculties in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences completed a 60 item questionnaire which had three parts, each part including questions regarding attitude, knowledge and computer skills, respectively. Then the data was analyzed by SPSS software. Frequency distribution of all questions was calculated and also T-test, one way ANOVA, and Kruskal-Wallis were used for data analysis. Results. According to the results 97.3% of the faculty members believed computer had an important role in promoting their scientific activities. The mean of the faculty member's knowledge which indicated their skills in using computers' routine softwares, electronic mail and searching online articles and databases was calculated 10.84 based on 20 and with the standard deviation of 5.5. The faculty members used computer and internet about 7.8±7.2 and 6.4±5.9 hours per week, respectively. There was a significant difference between faculty members' knowledge in different faculties but in comparing their knowledge based on their ranks and degree, no significant difference was observed. The comparison of the hours of using computer in different faculties showed a significant difference between them. Conclusion. Most of the faculty members had a positive attitude towards the role of computer and internet in medical education but many of them lacked enough knowledge and skills in order to work with computer and internet. Therefore, it is necessary to take some measures in order to promote faculty members' knowledge and computer skills.