The effectiveness of problem-based learning in gynecology and obstetrics education in China

Abstract

Background: A meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) in gynecology and obstetrics education in China. Methods: English and Chinese databases were systematically searched for eligible studies that compared the effects of PBL and traditional teaching methods measuring theoretical knowledge, student satisfaction, clinical operations, and clinical practice scores in gynecology and obstetrics education in China. The authors restricted included studies to randomized controlled trials and performed a meta-analysis. Standardized mean difference (SMD) and risk ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated Results: A total of 38 randomized controlled trials with 3005 participants were included. Compared with traditional teaching group, the PBL group significantly increased theoretical knowledge scores (SMD: 3.17, 95% CI: 2.28, 4.07), student satisfaction (risk ratio: 1.29, 95% CI: 1.16, 1.43), clinical operations (SMD: 1.15, 95% CI: 0.93, 1.37) and clinical practice (SMD: 2.17, 95% CI: 3.63, 2.71). Conclusion: The current research shows that PBL in gynecology and obstetrics education in China is more effective than the traditional teaching in enhancing theoretical knowledge, student satisfaction, clinical operations, and clinical practice scores. However, more delicate-designed studies on this topic are needed in the future to validate these results.

Systematically evaluate the effect of problem-based learning method in the teaching of epidemiology and health statistics in China

“…The finding is consistent with earlier reports related to pharmacology, Paediatrics, gynecology and obstetrics. [35][36][37] To our knowledge, the current metaanalysis is the first to assess PBL utility in Epidemiology and Health Statistics courses in China. The PBL model′s utility in Epidemiology courses has earlier been established in non-Chinese settings.…”

Effects of problem‐based learning on delivering medical and nursing education: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…The advantages of PBL over traditional didactic teaching in medical education have been reported in pharmacology (Galvao et al, 2014), gynecology, and obstetrics (Bi et al, 2021), dental education (Huang et al, 2013), and nursing (Kong et al, 2014; Sayyah et al, 2017). Our results further supported these conclusions with higher‐leveled evidence from RCTs.…”

“…RCTs are considered to have the highest level of quality; thus, we sought to identify evidence from RCTs to support the advantages of the PBL teaching module. In addition, since PBL has been applied in education for many years, we also sought to find as much evidence as possible to support its use in general medical and nursing education, not only in a specific specialty; however, the only meta-analysis of RCTs that compared PBL with other teaching modules in literature was limited in OB/GYN education (Bi et al, 2021). Therefore, we believe our findings are different from the existing evidence in the literature and useful for future study in this field.…”

“…Although there are several systematic reviews in the literature that compared PBL with other teaching modules (Galvao et al, 2014; Hew & Lo, 2018; Huang et al, 2013; Kong et al, 2014; Sayyah et al, 2017; Xu et al, 2021; Zhang et al, 2018; Zhou et al, 2016), meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is rare. The only published meta‐analysis of RCTs that compared PBL with other modules was limited to gynecology and obstetrics education (Bi et al, 2021). Therefore, there is still a lack of high‐level evidence on the effects of PBL in general medical and nursing education.…”

The effectiveness of problem-based learning compared with lecture-based learning in surgical education: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…To date, PBL has been proven to have advantages over LBL in various fields of medicine, such as gynaecology and obstetrics [ 12 ], internal medicine [ 41 ], anatomy [ 42 ], pathology [ 43 ], and medical cell biology [ 44 ]. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the forms of teaching used in PBL courses have also undergone tremendous changes.…”