Comparing online and onsite simulation modules for improving knowledge and confidence in disaster preparedness among undergraduate medical students

Background: Disaster preparedness is one of the critical strategies for effectively managing disasters and has been an area of high focus in the healthcare sector over the past few decades. The current Indian medical undergraduate curriculum does not describe any novel methods for disaster preparedness training. There is a need for a better understanding of novel teaching-learning methods and modes for administering disaster preparedness training among Indian medical students.

Objectives: Describe the undergraduate medical students' baseline knowledge and confidence level of disaster preparedness. Compare undergraduate medical students' knowledge scores and confidence levels on disaster preparedness after online and onsite delivery of the disaster preparedness module.

Methods: In this educational interventional study, 103 medical students were divided into two groups and subjected to an online or onsite session of the validated disaster preparedness module (based on the COVID-19 pandemic), encompassing a simulation-based tabletop exercise. Baseline testing was done for 52 participants in the online group and 51 in the onsite group of the study. Post-intervention, they were assessed with single-response type MCQs for knowledge and Likert scale-based questions for confidence scores. The pretest and posttest scores were collected, and the data were analysed using two-tailed t-tests for paired analysis of within-group (online group or onsite group) and heteroscedastic analysis of between-group datasets.

Results: One hundred and three participants completed the exercise-52 participants were from the online group, and 51 were from the onsite group. After the intervention, there was a statistically significant increase in knowledge and confidence in both online and onsite groups. There is, however, no significant difference in the 'percentage change' in 'knowledge' or 'confidence' between the groups.

Conclusions: Our study indicates that the disaster preparedness module, delivered online and onsite, improves knowledge and confidence among undergraduate medical students. However, there is no superiority between one mode of delivery and the other. We conclude that online training can facilitate disaster preparedness training as a corollary to the prescribed traditional training methods for undergraduate medical students in India.