Translation, Implementation and Evaluation of a Medical Informatics Distance Learning Course for Latin America

Abstract

There is a growing need and interest worldwide for healthcare professionals trained in medical informatics. Distance learning technologies are increasingly used to deliver such education, but mainly limited to the English language. We describe the implementation of a medical informatics course delivered in Spanish for a Latin American audience. The course was based on the 10x10 program of the American Medical Informatics Association and Oregon Health & Science University and translated and adapted to the Latin American setting. The course consisted of ten one-week units. A total of 152 individuals enrolled in the course, 93% of whom completed it. Most of the students were healthcare professionals and the largest proportion was from Argentina. Student satisfaction with all aspects of the course was high. The initial experience obtained in training healthcare professionals in medical informatics in Latin America in their own language demonstrated that it can be used across the region, and this could represent a model for disseminating knowledge of medical informatics across other languages and cultures.