Application of Interactive Spaced Education for Teaching Chronic Kidney Disease
Education, distance; medical education; renal insufficiency chronic.
Introduction: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) currently reaches epidemic proportions in the world. Although a major effort in medical education has been focused on teaching the appropriate approach to this disease, some studies have identified significant gaps in the diagnosis and CKD management and its complications. Objectives: Evaluating the Interactive Spaced Education (ISE) can contribute to the student's learning about CKD, comparing ISE versus expositive class and evaluating the student's perception about the tool. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study whose population was composed of medical students from IV, V, VI, VII and VIII periods of Medicine Course enrolled in an extension course lasting 6 weeks. They were divided into two groups - group A in which the ISE intervention was initially applied and group B participated first in an expositive class, both of which addressed the DRC theme. Results and discussion: The method proved to be effective mainly for the strengthening of concepts and classification of CKD. When compared to the lecture, it presented better performance for resolution of clinical CKD complications cases. The students evaluated the strategy positively, judging it useful for strengthening key aspects and for professional practice. The ISE is an effective learning tool for reinforcing key concepts, which uses test and spacing effects, in which it is possible to assess knowledge gaps and performance progress, favoring the potential of immediate feedback. Conclusion: ISE is an effective tool. The results obtained help to consider the decision to use this strategy depending on the educational objectives and resources available in the institution.