RESUMO
We established a Website which allowed clinical dermatology cases to be submitted, with digital images, through a simple online form. The case could then be managed within the public health service. A database containing 6000 drug interactions was also available on the Website to help clinical management. The Website was tested by 10 junior doctors, who examined dermatology patients, filled in the electronic form with their clinical observations and descriptions, and forwarded digital images. Five dermatologists then evaluated the 71 cases stored on the Website. The agreement between the virtual evaluation and the definitive diagnosis (on face-to-face examination) was 95%. The Website could be used in national health strategies, as a tool for promoting voluntary medical attendance, and for multicentre epidemiological surveillance.
Assuntos
Dermatologia/normas , Internet/normas , Consulta Remota/normas , Dermatopatias/diagnóstico , Bases de Dados como Assunto/normas , HumanosRESUMO
A Web-based educational model, called JUTE, was developed for the early diagnosis of melanoma. It was compared with a control Website composed of information available on the Internet for teaching undergraduate medical students. The JUTE model was designed to allow the student linear navigation of the main topics that were assumed to be important in learning to make a diagnosis. The rate of success in correctly deciding to refer pigmented lesions to a dermatologist was compared among 34 new medical students who were randomly divided into two groups. There was no significant difference between the JUTE and control groups in the pre-test. When comparing the pre- and post-tests, the number of correct decisions increased significantly only in the JUTE group. In the JUTE group there was a slight but significant improvement when comparing decisions about thin melanoma before and after the training. The educational approach chosen for the JUTE Website appears to be useful for teaching the early recognition of melanoma and could be used for larger educational campaigns of skin cancer prevention.
Assuntos
Instrução por Computador/métodos , Educação de Graduação em Medicina/métodos , Educação em Saúde/métodos , Melanoma/diagnóstico , Neoplasias Cutâneas/diagnóstico , Instrução por Computador/normas , Educação de Graduação em Medicina/normas , Humanos , Internet , Modelos Educacionais , Estatísticas não ParamétricasRESUMO
The quality of Brazilian health services, including clinical microbiology laboratories, varies enormously. We established a Website to provide different professionals with up-to-date information and to create a virtual Brazilian microbiology community. The Website became operational in February 2000 and had 198,976 hits in the subsequent 20 months. There were 1031 user registrations in its virtual community. Different microbiology topics were discussed and three virtual training courses (representing about 300 printed pages of information) were given. The e-learning centre and the Brazilian virtual community created by this Website have facilitated distance learning, and have encouraged professional integration within Brazilian clinical microbiology.