Designing EthAKUL: a mobile just-in-time learning environment for bioethics in Pakistan

In developing countries such as Pakistan, bioethics has not been included in mainstream thinking in medical education. The authors’ experiences suggest that current methods of teaching bioethics are problematic as students are unable to translate theory to practice. Alternative pedagogies, such as just-in-time learning (JiTL) using mobile devices, may be able to foster the development and implementation of ethical reasoning among nurses, doctors, and medical and nursing students. This research was conceived to determine the effectiveness of mobile JiTL – anytime, anyplace learning through mobile devices – for teaching bioethics. After obtaining ethical clearance, a participatory design (PD) approach was adopted to ensure input from all stakeholders for the design of ‘EthAKUL’, comprising a mobile app, five modules and just-in-time pedagogy. The name of the app is an acronym evoking ethics, learning and the university where the project originated.