Evaluation of participatory learning approach for developing competency of human immunodeficiency virus risk assessment skills among MBBS undergraduate students

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.

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.

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.

Participatory learning effectively builds upon existing knowledge and attitude to develop better HIV risk assessment skills.