Lessons from a medical student-run Public Health Journal Club- Survey study

The aim of the study was to analyze student participation in a Public Health Journal Club focusing on their attitudes, self-perceived knowledge and skills in public health and research. Additionally, study aimed to determine whether there are differences in attitudes towards the importance of prevention, self-assessed understanding of research methodology, and frequency of reading papers in the groups before and after the Journal Club. We also included an analysis of the project implementation process. Materials and methods: Electronic surveys using Google Forms were designed to gather data from medical students participating in the Public Health Journal Club. Two surveys were created: a pre-assessment survey conducted before the sessions and a post-assessment survey for feedback afterward, providing a comparison of their views over time. Surveys assessed the attitudes, self-perceived knowledge, skills, and experiences of medical students in relation to public health, research, and participation in a Public Health Journal Club. Results: We observed that by participating in the Journal Club, students developed more positive attitudes toward public health and research, as well as improved knowledge and skills in these areas. We discovered that students had a higher self-assessed understanding of research methodology after participating in the Journal Club (p=0.023). Moreover, 81.8% of survey respondents reported that it was easier to interpret articles and 90.9% of respondents reported that they would like to take an elective course similar to our Journal Club. Conclusions: The described Journal Club was perceived as an effective educational activity by the participants and its re-use in different medical areas and specialties should be considered.