Cartoon versus traditional self-study handouts for medical students: CARTOON randomized controlled trial

Evaluating the Impact of Cartoon-Based Learning on Student Performance and Engagement in Medical Education: An Experimental Study

BACKGROUND

Pathology, a foundational yet challenging subject in medical education, is marked by its extensive content and intricate concepts. These complexities often pose a significant learning barrier for students, who must not only comprehend but also effectively apply this knowledge in their clinical practice.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the impact of utilizing cartoons as a supplementary educational tool in pathology. Specifically, it focused on assessing whether incorporating cartoons into the learning process would enhance students' understanding, memory retention, and ability to recall complex topics, thereby augmenting the effectiveness of traditional teaching methodologies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Conducted from June to September 2022, this experimental study involved 106 second-year MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) students. Participants were split into two groups: the "traditional group," which received standard interactive large-group teaching, and the "combination group," which benefited from both the standard teaching and additional cartoon-based instruction. The study focused on two selected chapters of the pathology curriculum. After completing the first chapter, the groups were crossed over for the second chapter. Evaluation of the students' learning was conducted through post-learning assessments using multiple-choice questions (MCQs).

RESULTS

The combination group, which received both traditional and cartoon-based teaching, showed a significant improvement in their assessment scores compared to the traditional group. This improvement was consistent in both assessments conducted (t(102) = 8.41, p < .001 and t(99) = 6.85, p < .001). Additionally, feedback from the students through a post-learning survey indicated a strong preference for the use of cartoons. The majority of students agreed that cartoons facilitated a better understanding and retention of complex pathology topics (χ² = 130.9, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The incorporation of cartoons as a supplementary learning tool in pathology teaching shows promising results. This innovative approach not only complements but also enhances the traditional teaching methods, leading to improved comprehension, retention, and recollection of complex subjects among medical students. The study highlights the potential of cartoons in revolutionizing medical education, especially in teaching challenging subjects like pathology.

Medical students' perception of online intensive pediatric review: an experimental cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Despite regular pediatric education, pediatric instructors regularly provide an on-site intensive pediatric review course (IPR) as per medical students (MS)' request, to summarize pediatric knowledge for fifth-year MS in preparation for their externship. However, considering the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic restrictions (e.g., social distancing), an online intensive pediatric review (OIPR) is required instead. Unfortunately, the relationship between MS' perception and outcome of OIPR remains unclear.

METHODS

We developed the OIPR and an online mock pediatric examination (OMPE), aligning it with the essential pediatric components of the Medical Council curriculum. The OIPR comprised of two parts: self-paced online learning and in-class online discussions. The self-paced online learning materials were electronically distributed via Google Classroom to MS ten days priors to the one-day course, which included a pretest, in-class online discussions, posttest, and satisfactory survey. The constructed and validated satisfactory survey was categorized into two parts: demographic data and self-perceived satisfaction with OIPR. For data collection, an anonymous self-administered survey was used and was distributed to MS in April 2022. These data were then analyzed by Wilcoxon signed rank test.

RESULTS

Of the 80 eligible fifth-year MS, 45 agreed to participate (56.3%), of which 24 (53.3%) were females. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) of MS' age was 23 ± 0.6 years. All (100%) concurred that OIPR is beneficial and recommended it to junior students who were planning to take the examination. The mean ± SD of OMPE significantly increased, from 20.9 ± 3.8 to 22.9 ± 3.3 (p = 0.001).

CONCLUSION

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which required social distancing, OIPR has helped MS summarize and enhance their knowledge in preparation for externship and the examination.

Development and effects of a webtoon education program on preventive self-management related to premature labor for women of childbearing age: a randomized controlled trial

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to develop a webtoon education program on preventive self-management related to premature labor (PSM-PL) for women of childbearing age, to evaluate its effects, and to assess the usability of webtoon education for women of childbearing age.

METHODS

The study design was a stratified randomized trial with repeated measures. The participants were Korean women of childbearing age (between the ages of 19 and 49 years), with 49 participants each. The preventive health management self-efficacy related to premature labor (PHMSE-PL) scale, the preventive self-management knowledge related to premature labor (PSMK-PL) scale, and usability of webtoon education were assessed. The intervention group read six episodes of the PSM-PL webtoon within 2 days after clicking an online link. The control group did not receive anything but was given the webtoon after the last measurement. To test the effect of the repeatedly measured variables, a generalized estimating equation model was used.

RESULTS

The experimental group had statistically significantly greater increases in PHMSE-PL and PSMK-PL scores from baseline to immediately after and 2 weeks later than the control group. The average score for usability of webtoon education was high (4.52; standard deviation, 0.62) on a scale of 1-5.

CONCLUSION

This webtoon education program on PSM-PL was a feasible and acceptable program that increased self-efficacy and knowledge of preventive health management of premature labor in women of childbearing age. Future studies that adopt a webtoon format can be beneficial for childbearing women with other risk factors.

Emotional experiences of reading health educational manga encouraging behavioral changes: a non-randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

Educational health manga are used to promote health behavior change. This study thus seeks to achieve the following objectives: identify the emotional experience of reading educational health manga, understand the effects of facilitating the psychological mediators of behavior change through emotional experiences, and compare the effectiveness of educational health manga with conventional materials.

DESIGN

A non-randomized controlled trial with six conditions was conducted. Target behaviors were physical activity and healthy diet. Individuals aged 20-69 years (n = 1,680) were assigned three manga intervention conditions and three control conditions (visual image-based, narrative text, and general text material).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Participants were asked about their emotional experience while reading either intervention material or control material and its perceived positive influence on enhancing psychological mediators.

RESULTS

Four factors relevant to emotional experiences were identified: risk perception, familiarity, satisfaction, and realism. Emotional experience strongly predicted the psychological mediators of behavior change. Analysis of differences among the six conditions revealed that exposure to educational health manga led to greater satisfaction and increased knowledge. Participants assigned manga conditions experienced superior emotional experiences and outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Those assigned manga conditions experienced superior emotional experiences and outcomes. The efficacy of educational health manga in encouraging psychological mediators of change was confirmed.Trial registration: UMIN Japan identifier: UMIN000034369.

The emotion storyboard: A method to examine social judgments of emotion

As perceivers, we need to understand context to make social judgments about emotion, such as judging whether emotion is appropriate. We propose a graphic novel-like method, the emotion storyboard, for use in research on social judgments of emotion. Across two studies, participants were randomly assigned to read emotion storyboards or written vignettes to compare the efficacy of the emotion storyboard to that of vignettes in studies on social judgments of emotion. In Study 1, undergraduates (N = 194) answered comprehension questions and rated story clarity and immersion. Participants also made social judgments of emotion by rating main character emotion control and appropriateness of intensity. To further compare the efficacy of the methods, in Study 2, Amazon Mechanical Turk workers (N = 213) answered comprehension questions while response times were recorded, rated clarity, answered a race manipulation check, and rated main character emotion type appropriateness. Overall, emotion storyboards resulted in greater clarity ratings, greater race manipulation check accuracy, and in some instances, enhanced comprehension and comprehension response times relative to vignettes. In emotion storyboards, main character emotion was rated more controlled and more appropriate in intensity, but not different in emotion type appropriateness, than in vignettes. Overall, the method offers a new method of examining social elements of emotion that enhances comprehension and maximizes experimental efficiency.