Medical College, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
PLoS One. 2007 Jul 18;2(7):e632. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0000632.
Medical education curricula in developing countries should emphasize training in health research. This study compares the knowledge and attitudes towards health research between undergraduate medical students undertaking Problem Based Learning (PBL) versus conventional Lecture Based Learning (LBL).
Two groups comprising 66 (LBL) and 84 (PBL) 4(th) and 5(th) year students from the medical college of Aga Khan University were administered a structured and validated questionnaire. Knowledge and attitudes of the two groups were recorded on a scale (graduated in percentages) and compared for statistical difference.
PBL students scored 54.0% while LBL students scored 55.5% on the knowledge scale [p-value; 0.63]. On the attitudes scale, PBL students scored 75.5% against a 66.7% score of LBL students [p-value; 0.021]. A higher proportion of PBL students (89%) had participated in research activities compared to LBL students (74%) and thus felt more confident in conducting research and writing a scientific paper.
The PBL students showed slightly healthier attitudes towards health research compared to LBL students. Both groups demonstrated a similar level of knowledge about health research. The positive impact of the PBL curriculum on attitudes of medical students towards health research may help in improving research output from developing countries in future.
发展中国家的医学教育课程应强调健康研究方面的培训。本研究比较了基于问题的学习（PBL）与传统基于讲座的学习（LBL）的医学生在健康研究方面的知识和态度。
阿加汗大学医学院的两个小组由 66 名（LBL）和 84 名（PBL）4 年级和 5 年级学生组成，他们接受了一项结构化和经过验证的问卷。记录了两组学生的知识和态度（以百分比的形式），并比较了统计学差异。
PBL 学生的知识得分 54.0%，而 LBL 学生的知识得分 55.5%[p 值；0.63]。在态度量表上，PBL 学生的得分 75.5%，而 LBL 学生的得分 66.7%[p 值；0.021]。与 LBL 学生（74%）相比，更多的 PBL 学生（89%）参与了研究活动，因此对进行研究和撰写科学论文更有信心。
与 LBL 学生相比，PBL 学生对健康研究的态度略为健康。两组学生对健康研究的知识水平相似。PBL 课程对医学生对健康研究的态度的积极影响可能有助于未来提高发展中国家的研究成果。
