Verification of educational effects on the structure of disaster physiotherapy classes for physiotherapy students

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to verify the educational effectiveness of the disaster physical therapy course conducted in the fiscal year 2022. Methods: The study included 122 third-year students of the 4-year physical therapy schools in Kumamoto and Osaka Prefectures. Group exercises incorporating active learning and rubric assessment were performed to evaluate the understanding of disaster response. A basic terminology test was performed to assess the proficiency of individual knowledge regarding disasters in disaster rehabilitation and case-response problems in evacuation centers. Results: In both schools, learning assessment significantly improved through rubrics and proficiency tests after the course (p<0.01). Discrepancies that were observed before the course in case-response problems based on the students’ experience with disasters were not reported after the course (p<0.01). Conclusion: The significant improvement in learning assessment through rubrics and individual knowledge proficiency test results after the course suggests a deeper learning effect through the integration of lectures and group exercises.