Redefining Health Education in the Post-Pandemic World: How to Integrate Digital Technologies into the Curricula?

Introduction

Health education is rapidly changing (Miranda & Tolentino, 2023; Mishra et al., 2023; Tomé & Coelho, 2023). Several factors, including demographic variations, changes in healthcare policies and contexts, modifications in professional profiles, and the way pedagogy is perceived along with the ubiquitous emerging technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) brought different approaches to health and education, teaching, and training. Thus, when we talk about technologies transforming the health field (Rao & Mokhtar, 2023; Solanki et al., 2023; Tavares et al., 2023), we must address the topic from two different perspectives: 1) how can we use technology in a more attractive way for learners, promoting the teaching-learning process and 2) how can we promote the acquisition of digital skills for learners who will be future health professionals in a digital world.

To develop skills for the 21^st century, not only new online teaching pedagogies are needed, but also digital tools that facilitate their acquisition and development. The OECD project “The Future of Education and Skills 2030” (2018) identified what skills and values students need to have to be successful in the future. In today's world, where learning takes place anywhere and anytime, and in a world where information and smart devices surround us, organizations need to rethink the role of education and training in the integral formation of citizens, to maximize the benefits of the profound technological, social, and economic transformation that is reconfiguring society. Shaping the digital future means empowering and including all citizens, strengthening everyone's potential to respond to global challenges. A significant part of the future of education, perhaps the most critical, is not found in the production and distribution of content, but in organically building learning environments culturally rich in activities and interaction, that did not exist in the past, but which the intelligent use of information and communication technologies make possible today.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought changes in the ways that both healthcare and health professionals’ education is delivered. During the confinement period, online learning and simulation became indispensable and were often the only means available for the continuity of education and clinical training (Jeffries et al., 2022; Kaul et al., 2021). Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) went through a significant pedagogical transformation and tested new teaching modalities; however, these changes were made ruthlessly and without much preparation and planning (e.g., emergency remote education; Garcia & Revano, 2022) since there were different levels of readiness for a complete transition to online learning. Institutions with centralized learning management systems had access to different features to create and deliver instructional materials online (Garcia & Yousef, 2022), conduct synchronous videoconferencing sessions, facilitate asynchronous individual or group works, and assess learning through submitted assignments or online exams with proctoring technologies (Revano & Garcia, 2021). Furthermore, institutions equipped with IT teams responded quickly and effectively to provide all the necessary means, support, and training in the use of these technologies.

Nevertheless, this is not enough to leverage a digital transition in health education. A recent study by Tudor Car et al. (2022) mapped the existing evidence and identified gaps and research priorities to enable robust and relevant research in digital health professions education. They identify different digital education technologies and modalities, working definitions, and descriptions – namely, mobile education/m-learning, serious gaming/gamification, augmented and virtual reality, and so on. Moreover, if artificial intelligence can help to deliver precision medicine (Imran & Jawaid, 2020), it can also have the same positive impact by promoting differentiated and individualized learning, automating administrative tasks, and giving extra support to learners.