COMPUTER-ASSISTED DIABETES NUTRITION EDUCATION INCREASES KNOWLEDGE AND SELF-EFFICACY OF MEDICAL-STUDENTS

Medical students and physicians need to improve their understanding of the role of nutrition and the multidisciplinary team in diabetes care . To assist in this learning, an. interactive computer program was dev eloped that focused on prescribing diets for patients with diabetes. P arallel 10-item knowledge tests and an 8-item self-efficacy scale were used to evaluate the efficacy of the computer program among 41 third- year medical students. Mean knowledge scores increased significantly a fter using the computer program. Posttest knowledge scores for the med ical students approached the level achieved by general practice dietit ians with no diabetes specialty training. Mean self-efficacy scores in creased significantly. The mean time spent on the educational componen t of the program was under 30 minutes. Computer-assisted diabetes nutr ition education proved to be an efficient and effective method for tea ching basic nutrition competencies to medical students. This program i s available on the World Wide Web (http://medicine.aecom.yu.edu/ diabe tes/DEC.htm) and may be a useful means for providing basic diabetes nu trition education to primary healthcare providers from a variety of di sciplines as well as for medical students.