How to Teach Medical and Dental Students About Infection Prevention and Control? Comparison of Two Learning Methods

The aims of this study were to evaluate medical and dental students' evolution of knowledge and satisfaction after infection prevention and control (IPC) training using two methods.

We enrolled second-year medical and dental students who were naive to IPC knowledge. The students were randomly assigned to two groups (A and B). Group A followed a course in the conference room that included a slideshow with videos and interactive questions to captivate students and measure their level of understanding. Group B followed a course in the classroom with direct demonstrations and opportunities for students to practice. Only experienced IPC physicians were involved. The participants completed a standardised questionnaire about IPC before and after the teaching interventions to identify changes in knowledge. The participants were also asked to complete a satisfaction survey.

A total of 226 second-year medical and dental students were enrolled. Students in both groups showed significant improvements in their knowledge. The relative change in knowledge (RCK) was 1.71 ± 1.20 (p < 0.0001) for Group A and 1.75 ± 1.15 (p < 0.0001) for Group B. The RCK was not significantly different between the two groups in terms of overall or per-topic scores (p > 0.05). Only 73 (32.3%) patients completed the satisfaction questionnaire. Satisfaction scores (out of 5) were significantly higher in Group B than in Group A on overall dimensions (4.59 vs. 4.40, p = 0.02), specifically learning objectives (4.83 vs. 4.37, p < 0.001) and interest (4.73 vs. 4.42, p = 0.03).

The two learning methods effectively improved student knowledge of IPC. These results suggest that, for IPC training and for students who are not yet comfortable with care, face-to-face practice in the classroom is more appreciated.