An approach to economic evaluation in undergraduate anatomy education

AbstractMedical education research is becoming increasingly concerned with the value (defined as ‘educational outcomes per dollar spent’) of different teaching approaches. However, the financial costs of various approaches to teaching anatomy are under‐researched, making evidence‐based comparisons of the value of different teaching approaches impossible. Therefore, the aims of this stud y were to report the cost of six popular anatomy teaching methods through a specific, yet generalizable approach, and to demonstrate a process in which these results can be used in conjunction with existing effectiveness data to undertake an economic evaluation. A cost‐analysis was conducted to re port the direct and indirect costs of six anatomy teaching methods, using an established approach to cost‐reporting. The financial information was then combined with previously published information about the effectiveness of these six teaching methods in increasing anatomy knowledge, thereby demo nstrating how estimations of value can be made. Dissection was reported as the most expensive teaching approach and computer aided instruction/learning (CAI/L) was the least, based on an estimation of total cost per student per year and assuming a student cohort size of just over 1,000 (the United K ingdom average). The demonstrated approach to economic evaluation suggested computer aided instruction/learning as the approach that provided the most value, in terms of education outcomes per dollar...

Source: Anatomical Sciences Education - August 2, 2020 Category: Anatomy Authors: Samuel D. Chumbley, Vikram S. Devaraj, Karen Mattick Tags: RESEARCH REPORT Source Type: research