Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37891546›Full record

Trial reportBMC medical education2023

An effectiveness evaluation of a community-based course for medical students: a randomized controlled trial in the teaching of epidemiology.

Yongming Zhang, Ting Huang, Mengling Tang, Lin Meng, Xiaolu Wu, Kun Chen

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC medical education, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Yongming Zhang *Department of Medical Education, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu, 322000, China. zymcool@zju.edu.cn.
Ting Huang *Department of Medical Education, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu, 322000, China.
Mengling TangDepartment of Public Health, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
Lin MengDepartment of Public Health, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
Xiaolu WuDepartment of Medical Education, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Yiwu, 322000, China.
Kun ChenDepartment of Public Health, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University · CNZhejiang University · CN

Funding

Medical Education Branch of Chinese Medical Association and Medical Education Professional Committee of China Association of Higher Education 2018B-N03026
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEpidemiology is considered to be the fundamental science of public health and plays an important role in clinical competence and professional development. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a short-term course for the teaching of epidemiology, which was designed as a community-based class for medical students.

methodThis course was designed according to Kern's six-step approach to curriculum development. A total of 75 undergraduates were recruited. Forty-one students were assigned to an experimental group engaged in theoretical teaching and practical courses, while 34 students were assigned to the control group only taking theoretical courses. All participants were asked to complete a pre- and post-course survey and to take a test after completing the course. The scores between the experimental and control groups were compared using the Wilcoxon test.

resultThe experimental group showed significantly higher self-assessment scores in course understanding (p = 0.0126) and clinical practice skills (p = 0.0005) after completing the course, while no significant difference was observed in the control group. In addition, students in the experimental group reported significantly higher interest (p = 0.0015), stronger learning motivation (p = 0.0113) and a better mastery of epidemiology (p = 0.0167) after completing the course than those in the control group. However, test scores (p = 0.0859) and pass rates (p = 0.1755) demonstrated no statistical significance between the two groups.

conclusionThe short-term practical course in epidemiology exerted significantly positive effects on the improvement of student learning enthusiasm, course understanding and clinical practice skills. These findings provide new ideas and statistical evidence for the development of epidemiological instruction. Future studies should explore how to more widely and optimally apply community-based courses to the teaching of epidemiology.

Indexed as

Students, MedicalCurriculumHumansLearningMotivationTeachingCommunity-based courseEpidemiologyKern's six-step approachMedical education

Identifiers

PMID37891546
PMCPMC10604501
OpenAlexW4387972591

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.