Theoretical models to guide undergraduate medical curriculum development: an integrative review

作者：Xin Yin, Luo Wang, Q.S. Li, Jiachen Han, Fang Zhou, Shuo Wang · 发表于：BMC Medical Education · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s12909-025-07644-3 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Innovations in Medical Education、Medical Education and Admissions、Diversity and Career in Medicine

BACKGROUND: Higher medical education has experienced significant growth in recent years. Curriculum development has consistently been the focus of educators’ investigation, as it is one of the most critical components of educational reform. High-quality curriculum development must be founded on educators’ knowledge and experience and supported by scientific and standardized theoretical models. OBJECTIVE: To integrate a comprehensive development framework based on the key steps and components of theoretical models that guide undergraduate medical curriculum development, and to summarize the issues that need attention in curriculum development. METHODS: Adheres to the WHITTEMORE and KNAFL frameworks. Eight databases were queried: PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CINAHL, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP. The inclusion criteria encompassed research that employed a theoretical model to inform the development of an undergraduate medical curriculum, detailed the development process, and was published in English or Chinese. Two researchers independently screened the titles, abstracts, and entire texts. The methodological quality of empirical studies was evaluated using the Mixed Methods Assessment Tool (MMAT). RESULTS: This review encompassed 18 articles, comprising three qualitative studies, six quantitative studies, and nine mixed-methods studies. Ten theoretical models that may guide curriculum development are mentioned in the 18 articles. We have integrated them into a...