Student Evaluation of Distance Learning for Health Care Professionals.

Abstract

Background: To meet the population's health needs, it is necessary to have health professionals highly trained and updated with the latest skills. The Brazilian government, through the Open University of Brazilian National Health System (UNA-SUS), offers continuing education with free access, in distance learning (DL) modality. Objective: This study aimed to analyze students' perceptions regarding didactic and pedagogical aspects related to the content and activities, educational resources, and tutoring in a module offered by UNA-SUS/Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA). Methods: The authors analyzed a sample of 319 students, enrolled in four postgraduate classes, who had completed the communicable diseases module, from 2013 to 2014, and responded to evaluation questions through the Integrated Management System (SIGU) questionnaire, an auxiliary system for processing and interpreting assessments of DL modules offered by UNA-SUS/UFMA. For statistical analysis, evaluation variables were dichotomized into either a positive outcome ("great" and "good") or a negative outcome ("bad" and "insufficient"). Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS®; version 18); the significance level was set at 5% (p < 0.05). Results: The authors observed that 99% of the students evaluated the module positively. Regarding the evaluation of the content and activities, 53% (169), 43.6% (139), and 3.4% (11) of students evaluated the item unit workload as great, good, and bad, respectively. The highest rated item was tutor performance, rated as great by 229 (71.8%) students. Conclusions: The results contributed to the improvement of DL courses offered by UNA-SUS/UFMA from the perspectives of controlling dropout rates and the development of public health services offered in Brazil.