Scientific Justification and Marketing of a Distance Learning System in a Medical University (with a Focus on the Department of Public Health and Healthcare)

The dissertation is devoted to the scientific justification and marketing research of a distance learning system in a medical university with a focus on the department of public health and healthcare. The work analyzes the current state of implementing information technologies in the educational process of medical universities, develops a conceptual model for creating a distance learning system that includes organizational-methodological and software-technical support. The research encompasses marketing analysis of the educational institution, surveys of faculty and students, segmentation of learners, as well as the practical implementation of elements of the distance learning system in the educational process of the department.

Relevance of the Topic. The present time is characterized by the widespread introduction and use of network information technologies in all spheres of human activity [7]. This can be called the beginning of the global informatization of humanity.

The system of medical education, although it is one of the most conservative areas of human activity, must reflect, support, and ensure the modern requirements of an information society, as well as of distance learning.

Distance learning (DL) is a purposeful educational process based on the interactive interaction between instructors and learners among themselves and with educational tools, invariant to their location in space and time, which is realized in a specific didactic system. DL can be used in higher education as well as for advanced training and professional retraining of specialists [5, 67, 71g 104]. Taking into account the territorial features of Russia and the growing needs for quality education in the regions, it can be forecasted that distance learning will occupy a worthy place in the educational services market in the very near future [155].

DL makes it possible to obtain a higher education diploma for all those who, for one reason or another, cannot study full-time. It opens up broad opportunities for all those wishing to improve their qualifications or obtain a higher education without leaving production, including for people living far from the educational institution, as well as for students with disabilities (modern information educational technologies allow blind, deaf, and those suffering from musculoskeletal diseases, etc., to study). This is especially relevant for Russia, where the problem of training and retraining specialists has recently become acute.

Having received educational materials in electronic and/or printed form, a student can acquire knowledge at home, at the workplace, as well as in a special computer classroom at any point not only in Russia but also abroad. Computer systems can test, identify errors, provide necessary recommendations, conduct practical training, provide access to electronic libraries, find the needed quote, paragraph, section, or chapter of a book in just a few seconds, and highlight the main points. Educational courses are accompanied by game scenarios, equipped with a terminology dictionary, and provide access to major domestic and international databases and knowledge repositories at any distance and at any time. Individual abilities, needs, temperament, and busy schedules of students are taken into account. Learning can be conducted at various paces: faster or slower. All of this makes distance learning attractive and in demand in modern society [173, 176].

The market of educational products and services is rapidly developing. According to the report of the International Association for Information Technology, in 1995 the aforementioned world market was estimated at approximately 19 million US dollars. According to reports from the International Conference on World Wide Web (Hong Kong, May 2001), the same world market could reach a volume of 54.1 trillion US dollars by 2005. In European countries, the United States, Canada, and Japan, Open Universities have been created and are developing, which provide any person with the opportunity to obtain a wide range of educational services, including, based on network information technologies, distance learning. The implementation of distance learning is also taking place in Russian universities [90, 135, 174]. It should be noted that at present, Open Universities mainly study humanitarian specialties, and this constitutes a significant limitation for students who wish to study medicine remotely. However, these limitations are temporary. The rapid development of distance learning is capable of sufficiently effectively meeting the need for quality and more accessible medical education in theoretical and non-clinical disciplines, to which public health and healthcare belong.

Problems of the development and implementation of distance learning, including in the system of medical education, are today highly relevant. However, until recently, research on the scientific justification and marketing of a distance learning system in medical universities had not been conducted, which became the basis for choosing the topic of the present dissertation.

The goal of the work is the scientific justification and conduct of marketing research of a distance learning system in a medical university (with a focus on the department of public health and healthcare).

To achieve the stated goal, the following tasks were set and solved:

1. To conduct a situational analysis of the current state of the problem of implementing information technologies in the educational process of medical universities based on data from domestic and foreign authors.

2. To develop a conceptual model for creating a distance learning system in a medical university, including the scientific foundations of organizational-methodological and technological support of the distance learning process, as well as marketing research of producers and consumers of distance learning services.

3. To conduct marketing research of the producer (the educational institution and faculty of a medical university) and the consumer of distance learning services (students of a medical university).

4. To develop elements of a distance learning system for use in the department of public health and healthcare of a medical university.

5. To conduct an analysis of the results of implementing elements of the distance learning system in the educational process of a medical university.

The object of research was distance learning as an integral part of the educational process in a medical university.

The subject of research was the distance learning system, its organizational-methodological and software-technical support.

The scientific novelty of the research lies in the development of theoretical provisions on the organization of distance learning and the development of a model for creating a distance learning system in a medical university.

Marketing research of the producer (the educational institution and faculty) and the consumer (students) of the distance learning service in higher professional education was conducted using STEP- and SWOT-analyses across three positions (for the country as a whole, for the degree of favorability for the development of a medical university, and for the degree of favorability for the introduction of distance learning).

Elements of a distance learning system have been developed for the first time for use in the department of public health and healthcare of a medical university.

Practical significance of the work. The developed conceptual model for creating a distance learning system can be used when introducing distance learning into the educational process of medical universities.

The results and methodology of the research are recommended for use in the development and forecasting of distance learning courses in medical educational institutions.

Main provisions put forward for defense

1. A conceptual model for creating a distance learning system, the distinctive feature of which is the presence of a first preparatory stage at which marketing research of the distance learning system is conducted.

2. Results of marketing research of the producer and consumer of distance learning services using STEP- and SWOT-analyses.

3. Elements of a distance learning system for use in the department of public health and healthcare of a medical university.

4. Results of implementing elements of the distance learning system in the educational process of the department of public health and healthcare of a medical university.

Forms of implementation in practice. Based on the conducted research, a "Practical Guide to Creating a Distance Learning System in a Medical University" and a package of formalized electronic tools for distance learning (for the department of public health and healthcare of a medical university) have been developed.

Elements of the developed distance learning system have been implemented in the educational process of the departments of general chemistry of the medical-prophylactic faculty, and of medical and pharmaceutical merchandising of the pharmaceutical faculty of I.M. Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy.

Materials on the development of the distance learning system have been implemented in the educational process of the Faculty of Pedagogical Education of Lomonosov Moscow State University; the Faculty of Higher Nursing Education, the Faculty of Social Work, and the Faculty of Advanced Training and Professional Retraining (FPK and PPS) of the Kirov State Medical Academy.

Publications. 8 scientific works have been published on the topic of the dissertation research.

Validation of the Work. The results of research on the development and implementation of a new educational service — distance learning — were validated at the Department of Public Health and Healthcare with a Course in Economics of I.M. Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy.

The main provisions of the dissertation were presented at:

Scientific-Methodological Conference of Faculty of I.M. Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy "Scientific Organization of the Educational Process. 25 Years of EMS - Results and Prospects" (Moscow, October 2001);

All-Russian Scientific-Practical Conference with International Participation "Medical Sciences: From Ideas to New Technologies" (Moscow, December 10-11, 2001);

Third International Scientific-Practical Conference "Health and Education in the 21st Century" (Moscow, March 29-31, 2002);

IX Russian National Congress "Man and Medicine" (Moscow, April 8-12, 2002);

X Russian National Congress "Man and Medicine" (Moscow, April 7-11, 2003);

Scientific-Methodological Conference of Faculty of I.M. Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy "Scientific Organization of the Educational Process. Methods of Pedagogical Control in the System of Medical and Pharmaceutical Education" (Moscow, June 2003);

XI Russian National Congress "Man and Medicine" (Moscow, April 19-23, 2004);

Scientific-Methodological Conference of Faculty of I.M. Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy "Scientific Organization of the Educational Process. Independent Work of Students: Organization, Control, Ways of Improvement" (Moscow, June 2004).

VOLUME AND STRUCTURE OF THE WORK

The main content of the work is presented across 172 pages and consists of a list of abbreviations, an introduction, five chapters describing the research results, conclusions, recommendations, a bibliography, and 11 appendices. The bibliography comprises 236 entries, including 38 by foreign authors. The text is illustrated with 16 tables and 54 figures.