BUILDING SELF-CONFIDENCE IN EVIDENCE APPRAISAL AMONG PRECLINICAL MEDICAL STUDENTS THROUGH ABSTRACT INTERPRETATION: AN EXPERIENCE FROM AN INTRODUCTORY EPIDEMIOLOGY COURSE

Abstract

Background: Evidence-based medicine (EBM) requires clinicians to identify, appraise, and apply research evidence in clinical decision-making, making research literacy a foundational competency in undergraduate medical education. However, these skills are rarely explicitly taught in medical curricula, leaving students underprepared to engage with scientific literature. Objective: To evaluate changes in self-perceived academic reading competence among second-year medical students following a structured abstract interpretation assignment embedded in a short, intensive introductory epidemiology course. Methods: A one-group pre–post design was employed with 105 second-year (preclinical) medical students in a compulsory one-credit epidemiology course in Bangkok, Thailand. The pre- and post-course assessments were administered approximately one week apart. Each student was assigned a peer-reviewed article, required to interpret the title and abstract using the PICO framework, and deliver a structured presentation assessed by a standardized rubric. Students’ abstract interpretation performance was additionally assessed using the overall score from the faculty-assessed presentation rubric. A seven-item self-assessment instrument covering literature searching, article comprehension, summarization, critical analysis, and research confidence was administered before and after the course on a five-point Likert scale (maximum score = 35). Group differences were evaluated using independent-samples t-tests with Cohen’s d as the effect size. Results: Internal consistency was high at both time points (pre: α = 0.894; post: α = 0.924). The mean score for the abstract interpretation presentation was 7.20 (SD = 0.30) out of 7.50 points. The precourse mean total score was 24.14 (SD = 3.92; 69.0% of maximum). Following the course, the mean increased to 30.70 (SD = 4.13), a gain of 6.55 points (27.1%), which was statistically significant (t(208) = 11.80, p < .001) with a large effect size (Cohen’s d = 1.63). All seven competency items improved significantly (p < .001), with Cohen’s d values ranging from 1.17 to 1.51. Conclusion: A structured, individually accountable abstract-interpretation assignment embedded in a brief, intensive epidemiology course was associated with significant increases in students’ selfperceived academic reading competence. These findings support integration of focused research literacy activities into early undergraduate medical curricula as a practical strategy for building EBM foundations.