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Effectiveness of smart phone application use as continuing medical education method in pediatric oral health care: a randomized trial.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Continuing education aims at assisting physicians to maintain competency and expose them to emerging issues in their field. Over the last decade, approaches to the delivery of educational content have changed dramatically as medical education at all levels is now benefitting from the use of web-based content and applications for mobile devices. The aim of the present study is to investigate through a randomized trial the effectiveness of a smart phone application to increase public health service physicians' (PHS physicians) knowledge regarding pediatric oral health care. METHOD:Five of all seven DHCs (District Health Center) in Tehran, which were under the supervision of Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Iran University of Medical Sciences, were selected for our study. Physicians of one DHC had participated in a pilot study. All PHS physicians in the other four centers were invited to the current study on a voluntary basis (n?=?107). They completed a self-administered questionnaire regarding their knowledge, attitudes, practice in pediatric dentistry, and background. PHS physicians were assigned randomly to intervention and control groups; those in the intervention group, received a newly designed evidence-based smartphone application, and those in the control group received a booklet, a CME seminar, and a pamphlet. A post-intervention survey was administered 4 months later and t-test and repeated measures ANCOVA (Analysis of Covariance) were performed to measure the difference in the PHS physicians' knowledge, attitude and practice. RESULTS:In both groups, the mean knowledge scores were significantly higher (p-Value

SUBMITTER: Bonabi M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6873466 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Effectiveness of smart phone application use as continuing medical education method in pediatric oral health care: a randomized trial.

Bonabi M M Mohebbi S Z SZ Martinez-Mier E A EA Thyvalikakath T P TP Khami M R MR

BMC medical education 20191121 1

<h4>Background</h4>Continuing education aims at assisting physicians to maintain competency and expose them to emerging issues in their field. Over the last decade, approaches to the delivery of educational content have changed dramatically as medical education at all levels is now benefitting from the use of web-based content and applications for mobile devices. The aim of the present study is to investigate through a randomized trial the effectiveness of a smart phone application to increase p ...[more]

PMID: 31752833

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Project description:BackgroundGiven the context of rapid technological change and COIVD-19 pandemics, E-learning may provide a unique opportunity for addressing the challenges in traditional face-to-face continuing medical education (CME). However, the effectiveness of E-learning in CME interventions remains unclear. This study aims to evaluate whether E-learning training program can improve TB health personnel's knowledge and behaviour in China.MethodsThis study used a convergent mixed method research design to evaluate the impact of E-learning programs for tuberculosis (TB) health workers in terms of knowledge improvement and behaviour change during the China-Gates TB Project (add the time span). Quantitative data was collected by staff surveys (baseline n = 555; final n = 757) and management information systems to measure the demographic characteristics, training participation, and TB knowledge. Difference-in-difference (DID) and multiple linear regression models were employed to capture the effectiveness of knowledge improvement. Qualitative data was collected by interviews (n = 30) and focus group discussions (n = 44) with managers, teachers, and learners to explore their learning experience.ResultsSynchronous E-learning improved the knowledge of TB clinicians (average treatment effect, ATE: 7.3 scores/100, P = 0.026). Asynchronous E-learning has a significant impact on knowledge among primary care workers (ATE: 10.9/100, P < 0.001), but not in clinicians or public health physicians. Traditional face-to-face training has no significant impact on all medical staff. Most of the learners (57.3%) agreed that they could apply what they learned to their practice. Qualitative data revealed that high quality content is the key facilitator of the behaviour change, while of learning content difficulty, relevancy, and hardware constraints are key barriers.ConclusionsThe effectiveness of E-learning in CME varies across different types of training formats, organizational environment, and target audience. Although clinicians and primary care workers improved their knowledge by E-learning activities, public health physicians didn't benefit from the interventions.

Project description:ImportanceNew dissemination methods are needed to engage physicians in evidence-based continuing medical education (CME).ObjectiveTo examine the effectiveness of social media in engaging physicians in non-industry-sponsored CME.DesignWe tested the effect of different media platforms (e-mail, Facebook, paid Facebook and Twitter), CME topics, and different "hooks" (e.g., Q&A, clinical pearl and best evidence) on driving clicks to a landing site featuring non-industry sponsored CME. We modelled the effects of social media platform, CME topic, and hook using negative binomial regression on clicks to a single landing site. We used clicks to landing site adjusted for exposure and message number to calculate rate ratios. To understand how physicians interact with CME content on social media, we also conducted interviews with 10 physicians.SettingThe National Physicians Alliance (NPA) membership.ParticipantsNPA e-mail recipients, Facebook followers and friends, and Twitter followers.Main outcomes and measuresClicks to the NPA's CME landing site.ResultsOn average, 4,544 recipients received each message. Messages generated a total of 592 clicks to the landing site, for a rate of 5.4 clicks per 1000 recipients exposed. There were 5.4 clicks from e-mail, 11.9 clicks from Facebook, 5.5 clicks from paid Facebook, and 6.9 clicks from Twitter to the landing site for 1000 physicians exposed to each of 4 selected CME modules. A Facebook post generated 2.3x as many clicks to the landing site as did an e-mail after controlling for participant exposure, hook type and CME topic (p<0.001). Twitter posts (p = 0.13) and paid Facebook posts (p = 0.06) were not statistically different from e-mail in generating clicks to the landing site. Use of different hooks to engage physicians had no impact on clicks to the landing site. Interviews with physicians suggested that social media might not be a preferred vehicle for disseminating CME.ConclusionsSocial media has a modest impact on driving traffic to evidence-based CME options. Facebook had a superior effect on driving physician web traffic to evidence-based CME compared to other social media platforms and email.

Project description:BackgroundThe Mobile Continuing Medical Education (mCME) 2.0 project was a randomized controlled trial that found that a 6-month text message-based CME intervention improved both the use of online medical training resources and medical knowledge among a cadre of HIV clinicians in Vietnam. This companion study analyzed intervention costs and cost-effectiveness.MethodsWe conducted (1) a financial analysis based on costs incurred during the trial's planning and implementation; (2) an economic analysis to consider resource utilization; and (3) cost-effectiveness analyses to estimate cost inputs relative to impact: increase in self-study (measured by visits to online courses) and increase in knowledge (measured by exam score improvement) (in 2016 US$). Finally, we estimated the economic cost of a 9-month national program and a 10-year scaled-up model (in 2021 US$).ResultsThe total financial cost of the intervention was US$49,552; the main cost drivers were personnel time (71.4%) and technology inputs (14.9%). The total economic cost was estimated at US$92,212, with the same key cost inputs (representing 77.7% and 8.0%, respectively, of total costs). The financial cost per 10% increase in accessing online courses was US$923, while the cost of improving knowledge, measured by a 10% improvement in mean exam score across the study population, was US$32,057 (US$605 per intervention clinician). The comparable total economic cost of each improvement, respectively, was US$1,770 and US$61,452 (US$1,159 per intervention clinician). A future 9-month national program was estimated to cost US$37,403, while the full 10-year scaled-up program was estimated at US$196,446.ConclusionsThis analysis indicates that leveraging mobile technology could be a feasible way to provide distance learning to health professions across Vietnam at a relatively low cost. Given the need for practical ways to expand CME in resource-constrained regions of the world, this approach warrants further study and possible adoption.

Dataset Information

Effectiveness of smart phone application use as continuing medical education method in pediatric oral health care: a randomized trial.

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Effectiveness of smart phone application use as continuing medical education method in pediatric oral health care: a randomized trial.

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