Objective: Embryology education for medical students has advanced through animation due to dissatisfaction with current teaching methods, creating a novel approach for human embryology education in Malaysia. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of a newly developed embryogenesis 2D animation among undergraduate students in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
Methods: The researchers used a purposive sampling method for this cross-sectional research, arranging the sampling population by gender, ethnicity, and clinical study phase. Baseline questionnaires were administered pre-intervention, and all participants received the same 9-minute embryology animation with unlimited access. The post-test, which included 20 true/false statement questions assessing knowledge and perception, took place 5 days after the intervention. Data were analysed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Science version 27.
Results: The study had a 75.39% response rate, with 144 respondents completing both the baseline and post-intervention questionnaires. The findings revealed a significant difference between the mean knowledge score and median perception score at baseline and post-intervention, with both scores increasing after the intervention. Females showed greater improvement than males in both knowledge and perception scores, as did preclinical students compared to clinical students. The mean score difference for knowledge was highest among minority ethnicities, indicating the greatest improvement in knowledge scores, while Malay respondents showed the greatest improvement in perception scores.
Conclusion: The research findings demonstrated that the newly developed embryogenesis 2D animation significantly improved the embryology knowledge and perception of medical students at UPM.
Keywords: 2D animation; anatomy; embryology; knowledge; perception