Evaluation of the effect of using online database to enhance students' learning of occupational therapy theories in occupational therapy education.
Chi-Wen Chien, Chloe Mo, Chung-Ying Lin and 5 others
PMID 35847181WHAT IT FOUND
Students using the HOTheory database alongside their regular lectures named more occupational therapy theories and reported better understanding than those who did not use it.
However, interest levels did not improve, and first-year students actually reported a drop in interest by the end of the semester.
Key findings
01Students who accessed the database named significantly more OT theories after the semester than those who did not.
02There was no significant difference in students' level of interest in learning about OT theories between the start and end of the semester.
03First-year students who accessed the database showed a significant decrease in their level of interest in learning about OT theories during the semester.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
There was no control group of students who were not provided access to the database, making it difficult to isolate the database's effect from other learning activities. Students used multiple resources (lectures, tutorials, other search engines) during the semester, so the specific contribution of the database cannot be separated. The study relied on self-reported understanding and interest using unvalidated 11-point scales, which may not reflect actual knowledge. Participation was voluntary, which introduces potential bias from non-response.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The work was funded by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the database itself caused the improved understanding or named theories. Students also attended regular lectures, tutorials, and completed assignments, and the study had no true control group, so the effect of the database alone cannot be separated from the rest of the curriculum.