Abstract

This study aimed to integrate epidemiological and biostatistical concepts into classroom teaching through COVID-19 case study methods among undergraduate medical students in Saudi Arabia. To test the study objective, data were collected from 200 medical undergraduate students using a convenience sampling technique. Data was analyzed from both descriptive and inferential statistics perspectives to analyze the impact of the intervention.  Both descriptive and inferential results revealed that integrating COVID-19 case studies into classroom discussions significantly improved students’ understanding of epidemiological and biostatistical concepts. A particular improvement was identified in fundamental concepts, where their ability to interpret the epidemiology and statistical analysis was increased. Such kind of improvements demonstrated that exposure to real pandemic datasets enabled students to better understand how epidemiological models and statistical tools are applied in real healthcare contexts, such as disease surveillance, outbreak analysis, and evidence-based decision making. The study with specific findings contributed that case-based learning using real public health datasets is an effective pedagogical strategy for strengthening analytical competence among medical students. Therefore, this study contributed to helping educators focus on the case study methods because incorporating real-world case studies into epidemiology and biostatistics courses can significantly enhance students’ analytical skills, conceptual understanding, and readiness for evidence-based medical practice in Saudi Arabia.