Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38845004›Full record

SynthesisBMC medical education2024

Tools for measuring curriculum integration in health professions' education: a systematic review.

Soumaya Allouch, Raja Mahamade Ali, Noor Al-Wattary, Michail Nomikos, Marwan F Abu-Hijleh

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC medical education, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
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

5 authors.

Soumaya Allouch *Basic Medical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, PO Box 2713, Doha, Qatar.
Raja Mahamade Ali *Basic Medical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, PO Box 2713, Doha, Qatar.
Noor Al-WattaryCollege of Education, Qatar University, PO Box 2713, Doha, Qatar.
Michail NomikosBasic Medical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, PO Box 2713, Doha, Qatar.
Marwan F Abu-HijlehBasic Medical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, PO Box 2713, Doha, Qatar. mabuhijleh@qu.edu.qa.

Funding

Qatar University QUCG-CMED-22/23-470
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCurriculum integration is an important educational concept widely implemented by various educational institutions, particularly within the healthcare field. Its significance lies in enhancing the preparation of future healthcare professionals. The assessment of these integrated curricula is imperative to guarantee their effectiveness. Consequently, the aim of this systematic review is to delve into existing literature, with the goal of identifying instruments designed to assess the extent of curriculum integration in health professions' education.

methodsA comprehensive search was conducted to identify peer-reviewed papers and grey literature describing the development, validation, or use of instruments measuring the degree of integration in a curriculum. Eight databases were searched: PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, CINAHL Ultimate, Web of Science, Cochrane, ProQuest Central and EMBASE. Grey literature was also included. Titles, abstracts, and full text screening was conducted. Data extraction was done using a data extraction tool developed by our research team.

resultsThe search resulted in the identification of 2094 references. After the removal of duplicates and title and abstract screening, 16 articles were deemed suitable for inclusion in this systematic review. Twenty-two instruments were extracted from these articles. The identified instruments assessed either integration attributes, perceptions about the integrated curriculum characteristics, process and outcomes, or curriculum integration level. Two of the instruments were focused on assessing horizontal integration (Basic Science Curriculum Assessment Instrument and the integration characteristic tool). In addition, one instrument was developed to assess integration within a single session only, while other instruments assessed curriculum integration level. Two of the integration instruments (The Session Integration Tool and Integration Ladder Questionnaire) provided scales for calculating integration levels. Validation of the integration assessment instruments was infrequent, with only 9 of 22 instruments validated for their psychometric properties.

conclusionOur findings reveal the existence of diverse instruments designed to assess the extent of curriculum integration within health professions' curricula. The majority of identified instruments were focused on participants' perceptions towards the attributes of the integrated curriculum, and a significant number of these tools lacked validation.

Indexed as

CurriculumHealth OccupationsEducational MeasurementHumansHealth professionsInstrumentIntegrated curriculumMedical educationQuestionnaire

Identifiers

PMID38845004
PMCPMC11157845

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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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.