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Research article
Exploring the Features of Mobile Application of Anatomy in Basic Medical Sciences: a qualitative study
Afsaneh Dehnad
The University of Manchester Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5731-8894
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published version at BMC Medical Education.
Background The importance of mobile phones has become one of the new research topics in health professions education due to the ease of access and flexibility. Although novel approaches to health professions education recommend the use of educational technologies such as mobile applications, a limited number of studies have been conducted with regard to teaching anatomy through mobile applications. Considering the increasing needs of medical students for mobile technology to meet their educational needs, wants and desires, we decided to explore the features of an anatomy mobile application.
Methods This qualitative study was conducted in two stages of holding focus groups and an expert panel session. Students of basic Medical sciences, and faculty members of anatomy at Iran University of Medical Sciences formed the research participants. Semi-structured interviews and note-taking were used to collect the data. Brown and Clark methods were used for thematic analysis and feature extraction. Finally, four criteria presented by Lincoln and Guba for qualitative studies were used to ensure the credibility, confirmability, trustworthiness and transferability of the data.
Results Based on the data analysis, 37 codes that could be used to design anatomy mobile content for medical students were extracted. These features were categorized into the main themes of “visual richness”, “scientific comprehensiveness”, “audio richness”, “affordability”, “user-friendliness”, “self-assessment”, “interactive content” and “user support”.
Conclusion This study explored the features of an anatomy application that can be used by educational app developers. Anatomy departments of universities of medical sciences, policymakers, and planners in the field of medical education can also adopt the findings of the present study.
Keywords
Feature, Anatomy, Mobile Phone, Application, educational technology
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amir
commented on 09 May, 2020
The subject of the article looks good and new. If the principles of multimedia design are used in it, it will have a stronger foundation
Hayedeh Nasser
commented on 30 May, 2020
This paper is a stepping stone toward a user-centered design study, in which qualitative researchers and technology developers could come together and, in an iterative design process, produce an App tailored to medical students’ needs. In future studies, it would be helpful to ask first-year medical students, who are taking an anatomy course, to participate in the focus groups. These students may experience hurdles in their learning, which may have been overcome by their peers in the third or fourth year, and which may no longer being perceived as concerns. Incorporating freshman students’ perspectives could help technology developers tailor App designs to a larger audience.
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CURRENT STATUS: Published
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On 20 Jul, 2020
Community comments: 2
Review #1 received
Received 12 May, 2020
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 12 May, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 29 Apr, 2020
Review #3 received
Received 29 Apr, 2020
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 27 Apr, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 22 Apr, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 21 Apr, 2020
Editor assigned
On 17 Apr, 2020
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Invitations sent on 17 Apr, 2020
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This preprint is under consideration at BMC Medical Education. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research article
Exploring the Features of Mobile Application of Anatomy in Basic Medical Sciences: a qualitative study
Afsaneh Dehnad
The University of Manchester Faculty of Biology Medicine and Health
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5731-8894
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Published
Version 1
Posted 16 Apr, 2020
Published
On 20 Jul, 2020
Community comments: 2
Review #1 received
Received 12 May, 2020
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 12 May, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 29 Apr, 2020
Review #3 received
Received 29 Apr, 2020
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 27 Apr, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 22 Apr, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 21 Apr, 2020
Editor assigned
On 17 Apr, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 17 Apr, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 14 Apr, 2020
Editor invited
On 14 Apr, 2020
First submitted
On 07 Apr, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 2
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published version at BMC Medical Education.
Background The importance of mobile phones has become one of the new research topics in health professions education due to the ease of access and flexibility. Although novel approaches to health professions education recommend the use of educational technologies such as mobile applications, a limited number of studies have been conducted with regard to teaching anatomy through mobile applications. Considering the increasing needs of medical students for mobile technology to meet their educational needs, wants and desires, we decided to explore the features of an anatomy mobile application.
Methods This qualitative study was conducted in two stages of holding focus groups and an expert panel session. Students of basic Medical sciences, and faculty members of anatomy at Iran University of Medical Sciences formed the research participants. Semi-structured interviews and note-taking were used to collect the data. Brown and Clark methods were used for thematic analysis and feature extraction. Finally, four criteria presented by Lincoln and Guba for qualitative studies were used to ensure the credibility, confirmability, trustworthiness and transferability of the data.
Results Based on the data analysis, 37 codes that could be used to design anatomy mobile content for medical students were extracted. These features were categorized into the main themes of “visual richness”, “scientific comprehensiveness”, “audio richness”, “affordability”, “user-friendliness”, “self-assessment”, “interactive content” and “user support”.
Conclusion This study explored the features of an anatomy application that can be used by educational app developers. Anatomy departments of universities of medical sciences, policymakers, and planners in the field of medical education can also adopt the findings of the present study.
Figure 1
Figure 2
amir
commented on 09 May, 2020
The subject of the article looks good and new. If the principles of multimedia design are used in it, it will have a stronger foundation
Hayedeh Nasser
commented on 30 May, 2020
This paper is a stepping stone toward a user-centered design study, in which qualitative researchers and technology developers could come together and, in an iterative design process, produce an App tailored to medical students’ needs. In future studies, it would be helpful to ask first-year medical students, who are taking an anatomy course, to participate in the focus groups. These students may experience hurdles in their learning, which may have been overcome by their peers in the third or fourth year, and which may no longer being perceived as concerns. Incorporating freshman students’ perspectives could help technology developers tailor App designs to a larger audience.