A Blended Learning Course on the Diagnostics of Mental Disorders: Multicenter Cluster Randomized Noninferiority Trial

Area of Science:

• Psychology Education
• Clinical Psychology Training
• Medical Education Technology

Background:

• Accurate clinical diagnoses are crucial for effective therapy and patient outcomes.
• Misdiagnoses can lead to severe adverse effects, highlighting the need for improved diagnostic skills.
• Disseminating evidence-based diagnostic skills into clinical practice is a priority.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a blended learning course for enhancing diagnostic skills.
• To compare the effectiveness of blended learning versus traditional synchronous teaching methods.
• To assess the impact on clinical diagnostic interview performance and knowledge.

Main Methods:

• A multicenter cluster randomized controlled trial involving 350 undergraduate psychology students across 18 university courses.
• Random assignment of courses to either blended learning or traditional synchronous teaching formats.
• Primary outcome: performance in a clinical diagnostic interview; secondary outcomes: diagnostic knowledge and participant reactions.

Main Results:

• Blended learning participants achieved an 89% pass rate, significantly higher than the 74.6% pass rate in the synchronous group, demonstrating superiority.
• Blended learning also showed superiority in improving diagnostic knowledge, course clarity, structure, and informativeness.
• The odds ratio for successfully passing the behavioral test was 2.77 in favor of blended learning.

Conclusions:

• Blended learning is a superior method for improving diagnostic skills and knowledge in future clinicians.
• This educational approach can significantly contribute to enhancing the quality of mental healthcare.
• The findings support the integration of blended learning into psychology and clinical training programs.