The Level of Computer use and the Degree of the Acceptance of Informatics Applied in Medical Research

Abstract

Young medical graduates are bound to become researchers, as medical science implies constant studying. Documenting, collecting and processing medical data involve a certain degree of computer literacy. The development of computer-assisted tools and their implementation in all medical fields imposes an evaluation of the level of computer use in research. A number of 85 PhD students at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy from Tg. Mureş were presented with a questionnaire in order to evaluate their knowledge of computer use. The results were quantified by devising evaluation scores. Correspondence between answers was tested using Friedman’s correspondence test. After the initial questionnaire, the subjects attended a course in which computer-aided solutions were presented, followed by a new evaluation questionnaire. The conception and application of a questionnaire-based qualitative study to assess the level of knowledge regarding the use of information technologies applied in medical research has proved that there are researchers who do not use computers to aid them in their research. Testing the researchers by means of a questionnaire for evaluating the level of acceptance of information technologies in computer-assisted medical (epidemiological and clinical) research has shown that resistance to computer use in research is not significant.