The Integrative Cycle of Pharmacological Learning (CIAF): description and validation of a pedagogical model for health pharmacology teaching

Abstract

The teaching of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics is a cornerstone of safe clinical reasoning in health professional training. However, the predominance of traditional expository models and the absence of contextualized pedagogical strategies produce persistent cognitive gaps in students. To describe the development process and theoretical- methodological foundations of the Integrative Cycle of Pharmacological Learning (CIAF), an original pedagogical model developed over a three-year period of teaching innovation in the Angolan context. Qualitative-descriptive research using a Design-Based Research approach, conducted in a higher health education context in Angola, between 2023 and 2026, with 873 students from Nursing and Nutrition programs. The CIAF is structured in five sequential and interdependent phases: Cognitive Diagnosis, Guided Planning, Scientific Visualization, Active Learning, and Intelligent Assessment. Its implementation produced a reduction in the final failure rate from 14.1 to 3.6% and in the initial diagnostic failure rate from 42 to 21% over three consecutive academic years. The CIAF demonstrated efficacy, replicability, and contextual adaptability to the needs of pharmacology teaching in the Portuguese-speaking African context, with potential for transfer to other health sciences disciplines.