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Cinemeducation in clinical pharmacology: using cinema to help students learn about pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reactions

  • Pharmacodynamics
  • Published:
European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Feature films are increasingly being used in teaching health sciences. However, few publications address the effectiveness of this approach. We hypothesized that using feature films could help students learn. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of using a feature film to teach students about adverse drug reactions and pharmacovigilance.

Methods

The study population comprised third-, fifth-, and sixth-year undergraduate students of medicine, third-year undergraduate students of human biology, and graduate students in a master’s degree program about the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Students watched clips from the film 150 Miligrams (La fille de Brest) and discussed them afterward. To measure learning, we administered a 10-question multiple-choice test about pharmacovigilance concepts. We assessed students’ satisfaction with the activity through a questionnaire. An exploratory comparative analysis was performed.

Results

A total of 237 students participated. Postintervention assessment scores were significantly higher than preintervention scores for the entire population and for all subgroups. The mean number of correct answers was 4.41 on the preintervention assessment and 5.78 on the postintervention assessment (mean gain: 1.37; 95% CI: 1.10–1.65). Similar results were found when analyzing groups of students from each group. Student satisfaction with this teaching activity was high in all groups.

Conclusions

Cinemeducation is a useful tool for teaching about adverse drug reactions and pharmacovigilance processes. Most students were highly satisfied.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Cristian Tebé and Mr. Pau Satorra for the help with the statistical analyses and all the students who participated in this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chair in Bioethics, Universitat de Vic – Universitat Central de Catalunya, Vic, Spain

    Irene Cambra-Badii

  2. Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain

    María de Lluc Francés & Sebastià Videla

  3. Clinical Research Support Unit, Clinical Pharmacology Department, Bellvitge University Hospital / Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain

    Sebastià Videla

  4. Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, Universitat de Barcelona, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain

    Sebastià Videla

  5. Clinical Pharmacology Service, Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital, Badalona, Spain

    Magí Farré & Eva Montané

  6. Department of Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain

    Magí Farré, Eva Montané & Francisco Blázquez

  7. Centre d’Atenció Primaria Sant Roc, Direcció d’Atenció Primària Metropolitana Nord, Institut Català de la Salut, Badalona, Spain

    Francisco Blázquez

  8. School of Medicine, Universitat de Vic – Universitat Central de Catalunya, Vic, Spain

    Josep-E Baños

Authors
  1. Irene Cambra-Badii
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  2. María de Lluc Francés
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  3. Sebastià Videla
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  4. Magí Farré
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  5. Eva Montané
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  6. Francisco Blázquez
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  7. Josep-E Baños
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Contributions

I. Cambra-Badii, M.L. Francés, M. Farré, and J.E. Baños designed and wrote the study protocol; F. Blázquez, S. Videla, M. Farré, and E. Montané performed the teaching activity; I. Cambra-Badii, M.L. Francés, and S. Videla managed the data and performed the statistical analysis; and I. Cambra-Badii, S. Videla, M. Farré, and JE. Baños wrote the manuscript. All the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Irene Cambra-Badii or Sebastià Videla.

Ethics declarations

The institutional review board of the hospital affiliated with the two universities approved the protocol for this prospective study. Before starting the teaching activity, we informed potential participants of the background, aims, and procedures of the study, of review board approval, and of their right to decline to participate in or to drop out of the study at any time without fear of consequences. Participants gave their consent to participate in the study by filling out and delivering the questionnaires anonymously. The study was performed according to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Cambra-Badii, I., Francés, M., Videla, S. et al. Cinemeducation in clinical pharmacology: using cinema to help students learn about pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reactions. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 76, 1653–1658 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-020-02985-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00228-020-02985-y

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