Strides in Development of Medical Education

Design and Evaluation of an Elearning Application for Health Training of the Visually Impaired

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Kambiz Bahaadinbeigi 1
Zahra Sadat Izi 2
Simin Salehinejad 3
Zahra Jarareh 2
Roya Vatankhah 4

1 Ph.D. in Medical Informatics, Assistant Professor, Medical Informatics Research Center, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

2 School of Management and Information Science, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

3 B.Sc. in Medical Record, Department of Health Information Management and Technology, School of Management and Health Informatics, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

4 M.Sc. in Medical Education, Medical Education Development Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

Abstract
Background & Objective: Today new technology has provided the visually impaired with equal opportunities for education and access to essential information The use of these technologies by students with visual impairment is vital The purpose of this study was to design an application for health training of the visually impaired and assess their views about its advantages and disadvantages Methods: This was a qualitative study in which a list of mental health information essential for the visually impaired was provided as a result of interviewing 15 blind individuals with different education degrees Subsequently this information was recorded in audio files by a person with appropriate voice and presented in the form of a multimedia compact disc Finally their views were evaluated Results: The results of this study showed that the blind were generally satisfied with the quality of the software and believed it improves their learning However some of the participants believed its content must be better and present more complete information about diseases They believed that this application should be designed for other health information necessary to them Conclusion: Considering the role of information technology and elearning tools in improvement of learning in the visually impaired and the necessity of health information for them trainers and training managers must consider designing and implementing of such tools to educate essential health issues

Keywords

Visually impaired
Health information
e
Learning
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Strides in Development of Medical Education
Volume 11, Issue 4
2015
Pages 456-463

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