Addressing Global Health Competencies Through a Virtual Elective During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Health Department at Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine adapted its curriculum to deliver it virtually for the first time. We enrolled 25 first- and second-year medical students in a Global Health elective of 12 sessions in the Spring of 2021. Students received pre-recorded video lectures and study materials for each session, followed by live interactions with international preceptors. We analyzed the effectiveness of virtual sessions and overall learning outcomes by using 1) a self-proctored multiple-choice quiz administered before and after each session for eight sessions and 2) true-false surveys at the end of each session for ten sessions. Students’ mean score on pre-session quizzes was 56.33% (standard deviation of 1.72%), with individual quiz scores ranging between 42.22% and 79.53%. However, after live interactions via Zoom, students performed significantly better, with a mean score of 89.55% (p <0.001, standard deviation of 1.78%) and individual quiz scores between 69.08% and 100%. When surveyed about their attitudes towards provided topics and study materials and confidence in discussing the topics and their future implications, students’ response was positive, between 95.8% and 99.3%, with an overall survey response rate of 96.7%. We believe that virtual learning provided an effective platform to address global health competencies during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can, therefore, be an effective model for maintaining the engagement of health science students in global health education.