Interdisciplinary integration in public health emergency education
Learning outcomes following a curriculum reform for preventive medicine undergraduates
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22077124 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jiang Wei (0009-0002-2497-2413, Guilin Medical University), Jingxia Wei (Guilin Medical University), Cheng Kang (Guilin Medical University), Xiangyuan Yu (0000-0002-7675-4103, Guilin Medical University), Yan Sun (0000-0001-7588-8444, Guilin Medical University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Pages | 1852123-1852123 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-25 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1852123 |
| PMID | 42267289 |
| OpenAlex | W7162319125 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 22 |
Background Developing a public health workforce with strong emergency response capacity is an important goal of medical education reform. However, evidence remains limited regarding how interdisciplinary and practice-oriented curricular reforms influence emergency preparedness-related knowledge acquisition among preventive medicine undergraduates. This study evaluated the effects of a curriculum reform based on an interdisciplinary, integrative, and collaborative training model. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 fourth-year undergraduate students majoring in preventive medicine at a medical university in China, including the 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021 cohorts, with 100 students from each cohort. The 2017 and 2018 cohorts were classified as the pre-reform group, and the 2020 and 2021 cohorts as the post-reform group. Data were collected using an anonymous structured questionnaire covering academic characteristics, self-perceived emergency response competence, objective knowledge performance, and satisfaction with educational resources. Group comparisons, multivariable linear regression, and machine learning analyses were performed. Random Forest, Decision Tree, XGBoost, and LightGBM models were compared, and SHAP was used to interpret the best-performing model. Results Compared with the pre-reform group, the post-reform group reported significantly greater participation in interdisciplinary courses, virtual simulation training, emergency drills, research projects, internship experience, and dual-mentor guidance. They also showed higher competence scores (36.05 ± 9.46 vs. 31.68 ± 9.89), higher satisfaction scores (21.52 ± 6.06 vs. 19.32 ± 6.41), and better objective knowledge performance (6.76 ± 1.50 vs. 5.11 ± 1.78), with all differences reaching statistical significance. In multivariable regression, interdisciplinary courses (β = 0.800, p = 0.002), VR simulation frequency (β = 0.446, p = 0.008), research projects (β = −0.382, p = 0.037), and internship experience (β = 0.399, p = 0.023) were significantly associated with objective knowledge performance. Among the machine learning models, Decision Tree showed the best overall predictive performance in both the test set (AUC = 0.713). Conclusion An interdisciplinary and practice-oriented curriculum reform was associated with improved emergency preparedness-related knowledge acquisition among preventive medicine undergraduates. Interdisciplinary coursework, virtual simulation, and internship experience appeared to be important factors associated with better performance. These findings support the value of integrated training strategies in public health emergency education and may inform future curriculum optimization
Continuing medical education · Curriculum · Educational measurement · Internship · MEDLINE · Preventive healthcare · Public health · Workforce · Disaster Response and Management · Innovations in Medical Education · Simulation-Based Education in Healthcare
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |