A comparative study on effectiveness of workshop education versus education via mobile learning (m-learning) in developing medical students’ knowledge and skill about cardiopulmonary resuscitation

INTRODUCTION: A variety of educational approaches are being used today to improve learning in the field of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Therefore, the present study was conducted to compare workshop education with education via mobile learning (M-learning) in terms of their efficacy in developing medical students’ knowledge and skills about cardiopulmonary resuscitation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The present study was quasi-experimental performed on 60 interns selected from a university of medical sciences in southwest Iran. Participants were assigned to either the workshop education group (n = 30) or the mobile learning group (n = 30). Before and after the intervention, the knowledge and skills of the participants in terms of basic and advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation were measured by a questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Independent-Samples t-Test, Paired-Samples t-Test, and Chi-Square Test in SPSS software v. 22. RESULTS: Education via mobile learning caused a significant increase in the participants’ knowledge about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (p < 0.05). However, this method did not result in a significant difference in the participants’ skill scores, while the workshop education group showed a significant increase in their cardiopulmonary resuscitation skill scores (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results revealed that education via mobile learning was better in enhancing medical students’ knowledge about cardiopulmonary resuscitation. However, workshop education was more effective in developing practical skills in the field of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Accordingly, educators are recommended to employ a combination of mobile learning and workshop education for achieving better results