Problem-based workshop for developing information literacy skills in medical specialists
Keywords:
Information literacy; computer literacy; education distance; problem-based learning; continuing education; education medical; competency-based education/methods; digital health; telemedicineAbstract
Background: Information literacy competencies are essential in clinical practice, but their teaching is generic and decontextualized; this limits the efficient management of clinical and technological information.
Objective: To evaluate the results of a problem-based workshop for the development of information literacy competences in medical specialists.
Methodology: Mixed quasi-experimental study with pretest and posttest measurement, conducted at the University of Sancti Spiritus José Martí. The sample included 30 physicians. The study was conducted between January and October 2025. The intervention consisted of a problem-based workshop with clinical-technological cases, implemented between March and April of the same year. The IL-HUMASS questionnaire, modified and validated by experts, was applied. Data were collected through questionnaires, rubrics for evaluating final reports, reflective portfolios, and focus groups. Quantitative analysis included Wilcoxon tests, effect size calculation, and Spearman correlation. Qualitative analysis was based on thematic analysis with researcher triangulation.
Results: The initial diagnosis showed a medium-low level of self-perceived information literacy competencies (pretest mean = 2.8/5). After the intervention, there was an overall improvement of 40% (posttest = 3.9/5; p < 0.001; r = 0.79). The greatest advances: critical evaluation and ethical communication. No differences among specialties (Kruskal-Wallis, p > 0.050). Moderate correlation between posttest self-perception and actual performance (ρ = 0.42; p < 0.050). Qualitative analysis revealed integrated schemes (clinical-technological), hybrid narratives, overcoming of resistance toward the technical, and greater ethical awareness.
Conclusions: The intervention based on real problems favored the development of information literacy competencies in physicians from different specialties in the clinical-technological interface
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Copyright (c) 2026 Carlos Lázaro Jiménez Puerto, Miguel Angel Amaró Garrido, Eliecer González Valdéz, Jim Alex González Consuegra, Mauricio Santiago Robalino Yambay, Armando Rodríguez González
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