Comparison of the effectiveness of e-learning and face-to-face teaching in hospital hygiene training for medical students at the Faculty of Medicine of Batna.

Introduction: Hospital hygiene (HH) training is the cornerstone of healthcare-associated infection prevention programs. Our aim was to evaluate the contribution of e-learning in HH training for medical students compared with conventional training methods in Batna during the period from 2019 to 2020. Material and Methods: This evaluative study compared 130 medical students trained by e-learning with 154 trained face-to-face. Elearning satisfaction was evaluated using a 5-point Likert scale (1 to 5). Mean scores obtained in the evaluation of the two groups were compared using Student's t-test with a significance level (α) set at 5%. Anonymity was guaranteed for all students who participated in the study. Results: The satisfaction survey showed that students were satisfied with e-learning, with a mean score of 4.58 ± 0.04. The mean score after learning assessment was 9.55 ± 0.19 for medical students who received face-to-face training and 13.71 ± 0.21 for students trained by e-learning, with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: E-learning enables the dissemination of training content to many students while giving them autonomy in organizing their training. These results are encouraging for the adoption of this innovative method.