Effectiveness of digital and analog learning methods for learning anatomical structures in physiotherapy education.

Background: According to the German Physiotherapy Education and Qualification Regulations, teaching of anatomical structures is one of the fundamental subjects of physiotherapy education. Besides exhibits and models, anatomy atlases are usually used as teaching and learning tools. These are available in both analog form such as printed books or in digital form as a mobile application. Furthermore, the use of digital teaching and learning tools is steadily increasing within the education of health professionals.

Aim: To assess the efficacy of a digital educational tool in contrast to an analog anatomical atlas in acquiring knowledge about anatomical structures.

Material And Method: The data collection took place in the context of an anatomy tutorial for students of the bachelor's degree program in physiotherapy. In a cross-over design, the students completed two learning assignments, each, with different learning materials provided, either with an anatomy app on a tablet or with an anatomy atlas as a book. The tests to assess the newly acquired knowledge immediately after the task, consisted of questions about the anatomical structures of the knee as well as the shoulder. In addition, the students' satisfaction with the learning materials provided was surveyed using a questionnaire. The survey assessed their satisfaction, their assessment of learning success, and their affinity to digital learning materials. This was done using a 5-point Likert scale and a free-text field. The data was analyzed descriptively, and group differences were calculated using a t-tests.

Results: Thirty students participated. The group comparison showed a significantly better outcome for the group that prepared with the analog anatomy atlas for the questions on the knee than the comparison group that used the anatomy app (t(28) = 2.6; p = 0.007). For the questions concerning the shoulder, there was no significant difference between the digital and analog groups (t(28) = 1.14; p = 0.26). The questionnaire revealed that satisfaction with the analog anatomy atlas was significantly higher than with the anatomy app. A total of 93.34% rated their experience with the analog learning tool at least "somewhat satisfied". In contrast, 72.67% of students partially or fully agreed that they "enjoyed learning with digital learning tools".

Discussion: Learning anatomical structures with the Human Anatomy Atlas 2023 + app did not show a clear advantage when compared to an anatomy book in these two cohorts of physiotherapy students. The results of the questionnaire also showed greater satisfaction with the analog anatomy atlas than with the anatomy app, whereas most students stated that they frequently use digital learning tools, including some for anatomical structures. Satisfaction with the learning tool seems to play a central role in their effectiveness. In addition, sufficient time must be provided for users to familiarize themselves with the user interface of digital applications to use them effectively.

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