SynthesisScientific reports2016
Assessing the effectiveness of problem-based learning in physical diagnostics education in China: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Scientific reports, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of Gagné's 9 Events of Instruction in health professions education: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of bridge-in, objective, pre-assessment, participatory learning, post-assessment, and summary teaching strategy in Chinese medical education: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Digital Problem-Based Learning in Health Professions: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by the Digital Health Education Collaboration.Journal of medical Internet research · 2019Pooled it
- The effectiveness of problem-based learning in pediatric medical education in China: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Effects of problem-based learning in Chinese radiology education: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Medicine · 2018Pooled it
- A simple approach of applying blended learning to problem-based learning is feasible, accepted and does not affect evaluation and exam results-a just pre-pandemic randomised controlled mixed-method study.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2023Trial
- Students' competencies in Problem-Based Learning influence evaluation of tutors.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The combined application of Mini-CEX and Check-list Scales in enhancing clinical competence among emergency and critical care residents: a comparative study.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- The Benefits of Using Case Study Focussed, Problem Based Learning Approaches to Unit Design for Biomedical Science Students.British journal of biomedical science · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Problem-based learning (PBL) has been extensively applied as an experimental educational method in Chinese medical schools over the past decade. A meta-analysis was performed to assess the effectiveness of PBL on students' learning outcomes in physical diagnostics education. Related databases were searched for eligible studies evaluating the effects of PBL compared to traditional teaching on students' knowledge and/or skill scores of physical diagnostics. Standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was estimated. Thirteen studies with a total of 2086 medical students were included in this meta-analysis. All of these studies provided usable data on knowledge scores, and the pooled analysis showed a significant difference in favor of PBL compared to the traditional teaching (SMD = 0.76, 95%CI = 0.33-1.19). Ten studies provided usable data on skill scores, and a significant difference in favor of PBL was also observed (SMD = 1.46, 95%CI = 0.89-2.02). Statistically similar results were obtained in the sensitivity analysis, and there was no significant evidence of publication bias. These results suggested that PBL in physical diagnostics education in China appeared to be more effective than traditional teaching method in improving knowledge and skills.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.