Luis Alvis Estrada

Educational strategy with multimedia technologies to promote mental health in health students

Objective: To describe the pedagogical experience of promoting mental health, using multimedia technologies with health students of a public university in Cartagena. Methodology: The contents of the mental health module of Health and Life course, developed by health students of a public university in Cartagena are described. It is a course that uses a cyclic methodology of weekly lectures and relies on workshops, panels, group discussions and incorporates a virtual platform where students can reinforce the content and exchange personal and group experiences during the course development, through forums and wikis. These experiences are analyzed at the end of the course, in order to promote healthy behaviors in mental health. Results: During the testimonies and interviews, students recognized the importance of mental health care as an essential part of the human being and as an aspect that can enhance health or harm the progress of a person. Conclusions: Promoting healthy behaviors in mental health is an important factor in the training of health professionals, to raise their awareness on this integral aspect of health and create a culture of caring and being a mental health caring agents.

Effectiveness of an Educational Program on Childhood Tuberculosis Supported on Information and Communication Technologies Aimed at Community Mothers from Cartagena

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effectiveness of an educational program using ICT to improve knowledge on childhood tuberculosis, in Family Women and Childhood (FAMI, for the term in Spanish) of Cartagena (Colombia). METHODS A controlled and randomize prevention trial without blinding was conducted on a sample of 50 community mothers from a location in Cartagena. The educational program combined five face meetings and support from information and communication technologies (ICT). With the control group only five education sessions were developed. RESULTS The average number of users in charge per community mother corresponds to 11 and the average number of children in charge was eight. Although in both groups the total score from the pretest to the post-test was improved (Intervention = 29.9 to 38.2, and Control = 31.9 to 36.8), this difference in the total and by modules was higher in the intervention group. Module 5 of Activities to identify suspected cases, monitor children, and care routes obtained in both groups the biggest difference in score between the pre- and post-test moments. C. CONCLUSIONS The education strategy that involved the virtual information component resulted significantly more effective to improve knowledge than the traditional education strategy.