Task-based learning of personal drug concept using multi-attributive utility analysis: An evaluation of outcome

ABSTRACT

Background: P drugs are preferred or priority or personal choice drugs of the prescriber for a disease which should be prepared by the doctor. Aims and Objectives: This study was done to describe the process of P drug selection done in the task-based learning (TBL) group. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive study done in the Department of Pharmacology of a Government Medical College in Central Kerala for a period of 2 months (June 1, 2018, to July 31, 2018) after receiving clearance from the Institutional Review Board. Participants who performed task-based learning of P drug concept were assessed for the proper completion of various steps in P drug selection. Results: All the participants could write the proper diagnosis and therapeutic objectives in the task sheet for case scenario related to absence seizure, angina, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, grand mal epilepsy, and pregnancy-induced hypertension. The weights assigned for efficacy, safety, cost, and suitability varied with each student, however, the most common weights were 0.4, 0.4, 0.1, and 0.1. The weights assigned amongst the eight clinical scenarios were found to differ with P < 0.001 for efficacy, safety, cost, and suitability on doing Kruskal–Wallis test. On doing one-way analysis of variance for group score F = 21.02 and drug score F = 20.91, both were found to differ significantly across the conditions with P < 0.001. The selected P drug was improperly prescribed across the clinical conditions except for that of bronchial asthma. Conclusion: TBL using multi-attributive analysis for P drug selection ensured considering various factors during its selection process for P drug selection.