Improving undergraduate education of occupational health and occupational medicine appling massive open online courses & problem-based learning

Background The learning of Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine in undergraduate college students in China has been hindered by various factors. This study aimed to explore the effects of the application of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) & Problem-based learning (PBL) in the learning of Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine in undergraduate college students in China. Methods Students enrolled in 2017 and 2018 were categorized in the control group and study group, and received PBL learning and MOOC + PBL learning, respectively. The effects of learning were assessed by scores of final exam, satisfaction degree of students, and feedbacks. Results The mean score of the final exam was not significantly different between the two groups. However, the further comparison by levels of scores showed that the percentages of good and excellent were both significantly higher in the study group than control group. The overall satisfaction degree was significantly higher in the study group than control group. In addition, the scores of the 3 dimensions of satisfaction degree, i.e. learning preparation, learning process, and learning effect, were all significantly higher in the study group than control group. The feedbacks of the students showed that they thought MOOC + PBL learning could better improve the learning efficacy, despite a substantial proportion of students reported that MOOC + PBL learning more time-consuming. Conclusions The findings showed that the combination of MOOC and PBL in the learning of Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine is an effective method capable of improving the learning efficacy in college students of Prophylactic Medicine . Further efforts are needed to optimize the MOOC platform to provide a friendlier interface.