Table 3. Level of evidence on outcome variables measured in six studies evaluating effectiveness of problem based learning in continuing medical education


Outcome variable High quality studies
Low quality studies
Level of evidence*
Positive result Negative result Positive result Negative result

Problem based learning v other educational interventions
  Participants' knowledge 1 1 0 1 None
Participants' performance 1 0 0 1 None
Participants' satisfaction 1 0 1 0 Moderate
Patients' health 0 0 0 0 None
Problem based learning v no educational intervention
  Participants' knowledge 0 0 1 0 Limited
Participants' performance 0 0 3 0 Limited
Patients' health 0 0 1 0 Limited

* Possible levels of evidence: strong, moderate, limited, or none (see Methods for details).