M. Kohlmeier et al., Introducing cancer nutrition to medical students: effectiveness of computer-based instruction, AM J CLIN N, 71(4), 2000, pp. 873-877
Background: Computer-based instruction has been introduced at the Universit
y of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to augment its nutrition course for firs
t-year medical students. Seven program modules have been completed; 2 more
are planned. Each module explains the biochemistry and physiology of nutrit
ion through interactive lessons, exercises, and a video case study.
Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate the instructional efficac
y and acceptability of the nutrition and cancer module when used by first-y
ear medical students
Design: The module was used by 163 first-year medical students at the unive
rsity's medical school as an obligatory component of the nutrition course.
Before and after using the module, students were asked to answer multiple-c
hoice questions concerning their knowledge and attitudes; each question had
5 possible answers.
Results: On average, students spent approximate to 3 h studying the lessons
. The percentage of correct responses to 20 knowledge questions increased f
rom 22% before the module was used to 86% immediately after its use. When a
randomly selected subsample of 25% of the students rook the same test 3 mo
later, they answered 62% of the questions correctly. The increase in the p
ercentage of students who felt prepared to provide advice regarding nutriti
on's role in cancer prevention (from 5.7% to 66.9%) suggested a successful
subjective learning experience. Neither the students' initial level of inte
rest in cancer nutrition nor their acceptance of computer-based instruction
was related to learning outcome.
Conclusions: The tested module is a useful and effective aid for teaching n
utritional principles of cancer prevention. The evaluation strategy helped
identify areas for instructional improvement.