A mudança na atitude frente à estatística em graduandos de Medicina em um curso introdutório de estatística utilizando o RSTUDIO

Abstract

Introduction: The teaching-learning process of statistics in medical education is historically deficient, largely due to the negative attitude of most students towards this subject. Among the various solutions proposed to modify the attitude of students and to promote learning, we highlight the contribution of the use of statistical software. One of these technological options is the statistical language R and RStudio software. The aim of this work was to understand the effect of a statistical discipline based on the use of R and RStudio software on students’ attitude towards statistics and to analyze students’ acceptance of the technology. Methods: The survey involved 43 students (26 women and 17 men) from the second period of UNIPTAN (Centro Universitário Presidente Tancredo de Almeida Neves) medical school. The change in attitudes towards statistics was measured by the SATS-28© (Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics) scale at the beginning and end of the course, and the assessment of technology acceptance (RStudio) was measured by the applied Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) scale at the end of the course. The attitudinal change was assessed by comparing the means of each SATS dimension, and the assessment of technology acceptance was made by cluster analysis, stratifying students into low, moderate, and high acceptance groups. Results: There was a statistically significant gain in the scores of 3 of the 4 SATS dimensions: affection, cognitive competence, and difficulty. The cognitive competence dimension was the one that had the largest effect size among women. The cognitive competency scores, significantly lower among women at the beginning of the course, were equal between sexes at the end of the course. The perception of difficulty with statistics was the only dimension whose mean scores at the end of the course were significantly different between the sexes. Although women considered statistics more difficult, women's final scores were significantly higher than men's. The acceptance of the technology (RStudio) was moderate to high in 93% of the participants. Approximately 42% (n = 18) of the students had a high acceptance of the software, 51% (n = 22) had a moderate acceptance and only 7% (n = 3) had a low acceptance. The degree of acceptance was similar in both sexes and directly associated with performance and attitude towards the discipline. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the R language and the RStudio can be good options to be considered as tools in the teaching of statistics in health courses, being well accepted by the students and positively associated with both attitude towards statistics and performance of the students. The results of this work can be used as a basis for decisions on how to plan and organize a health statistics course more efficiently.