This study involved human participants and was reviewed and approved by the ethics committee of the Medical Faculty at Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH; Rhenish-Westphalian Technical University in English) Aachen University Hospital (no EK 24‐022; registration no CTC-A 24‐035). The students were informed about the methods and objectives of this study through a brief presentation. An information sheet was available in paper form and as a digital document. Following the provision of information, participants signed a consent form about the collection and analysis of the data. A full data protection impact assessment was not required since the feedback form was anonymous. Participation was voluntary, not compensated, and could be ended at any time. Identification of individual participants is not possible in any parts of this manuscript or supplementary material.

The tool was developed at the University Hospital and Medical Faculty RWTH Aachen from October 2023 until May 2024. Recruitment and evaluation lasted from June 2024 until August 2025. The study design was cross-sectional as students gave feedback after having worked through the tool. The inclusion criterion was the enrollment in the medical study course from semester 6 onward. We used convenience sampling for recruiting (ie, announcing in lectures). Approximately 600 students were addressed, 147 signed up, and 39 completed the study (Figure 1 and Multimedia Appendix 1).

The tool consists of a learning video and a knowledge quiz (Multimedia Appendix 2). It was developed by author JB after she studied the literature and reviewed by medical doctors and speech-language pathologists. The video is a presentation of 25 minutes. The knowledge quiz is announced at the beginning. The presentation covers types of AAC, patients who could benefit from AAC, and which patient could benefit from what type of AAC (Multimedia Appendix 3).

The students’ evaluations were assessed with a feedback form on RWTHmoodle (Multimedia Appendix 4). Levels of agreement to statements pertaining to the importance for medical doctors, inclusion in the curriculum, knowledge gain, and benefit were measured on Likert scales. Content, design, and prior knowledge were measured using the German grading system. Effects of the knowledge quiz were assessed using a multiple-choice format. Knowledge quiz results and feedback form data were analyzed. Means and confidence intervals were calculated using R software (version 4.5.2; R Foundation for Statistical Computing) (Multimedia Appendix 1).

We are not surprised that most of the students were not familiar with AAC since the topic is yet to be implemented in medical education. It is gratifying to note that the feedback about our tool was very positive and that the students gained knowledge from it. Although our study had a small sample size, it underlines the importance of AAC for medical doctors. While our research focuses on the testing of an e-learning tool, other studies address the importance of including the voices of AAC users in the instructional process [6,7]. We support a previously stated interest of learners in first-hand experience with AAC users [8] (Multimedia Appendix 6).

We plan to combine our “AACHEN” tool with an in-person lecture, where different types of AAC can be explored in cooperation with AAC users. The “AACHEN” tool will be added to the RWTH Aachen toolbox app [9]. In addition, it could be added to an AAC online platform for German-speaking learners [10]. We would like to provide nationwide access to our tool and collaborate with other medical faculties.

Our study underlines the importance of AAC in medicine and the lack of students’ knowledge in the field. AAC is not yet taught to medical students, and appropriate e-learning tools do not yet exist. Our “AACHEN” tool fills a significant gap in the teaching of AAC. It can be included in lectures and be combined with practical instructions to improve medical education.