Knowledge and Awareness of Evidence Based Medicine among Clinical Medical Students of a University in Nigeria

Bello Arkila Magaji; Sirajo Tambawal Haliru; Ahmad  Abubakar; Ahmad Suleman Balarabe; Abdulbasit Ahmad; Nnamdi Rex Aniefuna

doi:10.5455/JPHCM.20240601070612

Abstract
Background: Clinical medical students should understand evidence-based medicine (EBM) to make informed, cost-effective, and acceptable clinical judgments. However, they are not routinely taught about EBM. Objective: This study assessed the awareness and knowledge of EBM as well as the factors associated with it among clinical medical students at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between July and December 2019. The study participants were clinical medical students in their 4th to 6th year of study. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 for Windows. The proportions and percentages were calculated, and comparisons were done using Chi-square. A p-value ≤ 0.05 is considered significant. Results: A total of 300 medical students were studied. The mean age was 25 ± 3.0 years. The male-to-female ratio was 2.7:1. The majority were Hausa 224 (74.7%). Close to half 134 (44.27%) were in their early clinical year. Overall, the majority ever heard about EBM during the clinical years was 243 (81.0%). A total of 123 (41.0%) had adequate knowledge of EBM. The majority are willing to learn more about EBM 215 (71.7%). There is no EBM in the current curriculum for medical students at any level. None of the factors examined were associated with knowledge of EBM. Conclusion: Poor awareness of EBM among clinical medical students was found. We recommend the inclusion of the EBM curriculum in teaching clinical medical students. There should be regular EBM workshops and access to online medical journals for knowledge and research purposes.

Key words: Evidence Based Medicine, Clinical Medical Students, Skills Acquisition Programs