Document Type : Original Article
Authors
- . Syed Irfan Ali
- . Jarina Begum
- . D. Lakshmi Lalitha 1
- . M. Ganesh Kamath 2
- . Rajesh Kumar Sethi 3
- . Aruna Rani Behera 4
1 Department of Biochemistry, GEMS and Hospital, Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, India
2 Department of Physiology, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal, Karnataka, India
3 Department of Paediatrics, GEMS and Hospital, Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, India
4 Department of Microbiology, GEMS and Hospital, Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, India
Abstract
BACKGROUND: An Indian medical graduate needs to be competent in the diagnosis and
management of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients. This is crucial in terms of occupational
safety. A participatory learning approach could be a possible way to change behavior and improve
HIV risk assessment skills among medical students for better occupational safety and health care. The
present study was planned to identify the need, provide different learning experiences for acquiring
competency, and compare the effectiveness of participatory learning over traditional in developing
HIV risk assessment skills.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: An educational interventional (randomized controlled trial) was
carried out at GEMS and Hospital. Needs assessment survey was conducted, which identified HIV
risk assessment as a key competency. For which the outcome‑specific learning objectives were
defined, two different learning experiences were employed. A pretest was conducted to assess the
baseline knowledge and attitude (n = 92); they were then divided into two equal groups (A and B).
“A” group was taught by participatory approach, whereas “B” by traditional techniques followed by
posttest and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) to assess their HIV risk assessment
skills. Statistical analysis: Paired t‑test for assessing knowledge and attitude within the same group
and unpaired t‑test for assessing skills between the two groups were used in this study.
RESULTS: Statistically significant improvement (P < 0.001) in knowledge and attitude scores was
noticed that OSCE scores were significantly higher in the intervention group “A” (P < 0.001) as
compared to “B” taught by traditional techniques.
CONCLUSION: Participatory learning effectively builds upon existing knowledge and attitude to
develop better HIV risk assessment skills.
Keywords
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