Dataset Information

Impact of an Online Nutrition Course to Address a Gap in Medical Education: A Feasibility Study.

ABSTRACT: Background and Objectives:Nutrition is a foundation of health, yet there is a deficiency of nutrition training in graduate medical education. The purpose of this feasibility study was to assess the impact of a brief online clinical nutrition course on medical residents' knowledge and attitudes related to the role of nutrition in clinical practice. Methods:Medical residents from two institutions took a 3-hour, online, self-paced and interactive clinical nutrition course that reviewed macronutrients, evidence-based dietary patterns, a rapid nutrition assessment, and motivational interviewing. We administered surveys of nutrition knowledge and attitudes at three time points: (1) just prior to taking the online course, (2) immediately following, and (3) 3 months after course completion. Results:Seventy-six residents enrolled in the study and 47 (62%) completed the online course and postcourse surveys. For residents who completed the study, the summated nutrition knowledge scores assessed both immediately after taking the course and 3 months later showed significant improvement (P<.001). Three months after completing the course, residents were more likely to believe it was their role to personally provide detailed nutrition information to patients (P=.045) and to endorse the view that a healthy diet is important for self-care (P<.001). The estimated time residents spent counseling patients on nutrition did not change after the intervention. Conclusion:This feasibility study demonstrated the potential of a 3-hour, online, self-paced nutrition course administered to medical residents to result in a significant and sustained increase in nutrition knowledge and positive attitudes about the role of nutrition in clinical practice.

SUBMITTER: Shafto K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7279113 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Impact of an Online Nutrition Course to Address a Gap in Medical Education: A Feasibility Study.

Shafto Kate K Shah Anuj A Smith Jacob J Wang Qi Q Devries Stephen S Kreitzer Mary Jo MJ Baxley Frances F

PRiMER (Leawood, Kan.) 20200420

<h4>Background and objectives</h4>Nutrition is a foundation of health, yet there is a deficiency of nutrition training in graduate medical education. The purpose of this feasibility study was to assess the impact of a brief online clinical nutrition course on medical residents' knowledge and attitudes related to the role of nutrition in clinical practice.<h4>Methods</h4>Medical residents from two institutions took a 3-hour, online, self-paced and interactive clinical nutrition course that review ...[more]

PMID: 32537605

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Project description:BackgroundMedical postgraduates' demand for data capabilities is growing, as biomedical research becomes more data driven, integrative, and computational. In the context of the application of big data in health and medicine, the integration of data mining skills into postgraduate medical education becomes important.ObjectiveThis study aimed to demonstrate the design and implementation of a medical data mining course for medical postgraduates with diverse backgrounds in a medical school.MethodsWe developed a medical data mining course called "Practical Techniques of Medical Data Mining" for postgraduate medical education and taught the course online at Peking Union Medical College (PUMC). To identify the background knowledge, programming skills, and expectations of targeted learners, we conducted a web-based questionnaire survey. After determining the instructional methods to be used in the course, three technical platforms-Rain Classroom, Tencent Meeting, and WeChat-were chosen for online teaching. A medical data mining platform called Medical Data Mining - R Programming Hub (MedHub) was developed for self-learning, which could support the development and comprehensive testing of data mining algorithms. Finally, we carried out a postcourse survey and a case study to demonstrate that our online course could accommodate a diverse group of medical students with a wide range of academic backgrounds and programming experience.ResultsIn total, 200 postgraduates from 30 disciplines participated in the precourse survey. Based on the analysis of students' characteristics and expectations, we designed an optimized course structured into nine logical teaching units (one 4-hour unit per week for 9 weeks). The course covered basic knowledge of R programming, machine learning models, clinical data mining, and omics data mining, among other topics, as well as diversified health care analysis scenarios. Finally, this 9-week course was successfully implemented in an online format from May to July in the spring semester of 2020 at PUMC. A total of 6 faculty members and 317 students participated in the course. Postcourse survey data showed that our course was considered to be very practical (83/83, 100% indicated "very positive" or "positive"), and MedHub received the best feedback, both in function (80/83, 96% chose "satisfied") and teaching effect (80/83, 96% chose "satisfied"). The case study showed that our course was able to fill the gap between student expectations and learning outcomes.ConclusionsWe developed content for a data mining course, with online instructional methods to accommodate the diversified characteristics of students. Our optimized course could improve the data mining skills of medical students with a wide range of academic backgrounds and programming experience.

Project description:PurposeWithin a medical clinic environment, pediatric obesity prevention education for families faces challenges. Existing long-term government-funded nutrition education programs have the expertise and staff to deliver. The purpose is to determine feasibility of colocating the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) into a medical clinic setting to support pediatric obesity prevention.MethodsPhysicians from a large university teaching and research hospital (n = 73) and 4 small Medicaid-serving community clinics (n = 18) in the same geographic area in northern California were recruited and trained in the patient-referral protocol for a primary prevention intervention provided by EFNEP. The 8-week intervention deployed in the medical clinics, included general nutrition, physical activity and parenting topics anchored with guided goal setting and motivational modeling. Referral, enrollment, and attendance data were collected for 2 years. Parent and physician feasibility surveys, parent interviews and parent risk assessment tools were administered. Paired-sample t-test analysis was conducted.ResultsTwenty intervention series with parents of patients (n = 106) were conducted at 5 clinics. Physicians (n = 92) generated 686 referrals. Every 6 referrals generated 1 enrolled parent. Physicians (91%, n = 34) reported the intervention as useful to families. Parents (n = 82) reported improved child behaviors for sleep, screen time, physical activity, and food and beverage offerings (P < .0001) and at family mealtime (P < .001). Focus group interviews (n = 26) with 65 participants indicated that parents (97%) reacted positively to participating in the intervention with about a third indicating the classes were relevant to their needs.ConclusionThe intervention is a feasible strategy for the 5 medical clinics. Physicians referred and parents enrolled in the intervention with both physicians and parents indicating positive benefits. Feasibility is contingent upon physician awareness of the intervention and motivation to refer patients and additional EFNEP and clinic staff time to enroll and keep parents engaged.

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Project description:BackgroundInterprofessional education (IPE) encompasses integration, communication, mutual trust and shared decision-making with a common goal of improved patient care and safety. Despite its crucial role, IPE has not gained its anticipated popularity. This study aims to determine the impact of an online educational intervention about IPE on medical, dental and health sciences students in the University of Sharjah (UoS).MethodsThis quasi-experimental research was conducted in three phases; a pre-intervention phase where the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) inventory was administered online to the medical, dental and health sciences students of UoS; an intervention phase where an online workshop was organized via Microsoft Teams®; and a post-intervention phase where RIPLS was used to gather the students' attitudes towards IPE. The independent t test was used to compare the responses between genders and junior and senior students. A paired sample t test was used to determine the impact of the intervention on the students' understandings and attitudes about IPE.ResultsOut of 800 invited students, 530 students responded to the pre-intervention RIPLS survey. A comparison of the pre-post intervention for the RIPLS subscales of teamwork and collaboration, professional identification, and professional roles showed a significant improvement of students' attitudes with p-values 0.03, 0.00 and 0.00, respectively. All workshop moderators scored a median of 4 or 5 to the essential elements of IPE during intervention except for a median of 3 for group dynamics.ConclusionThe present data, derived from the application of a brief online educational intervention, underpins the readiness and positive attitudes of undergraduate medical students towards IPE. The positive impact of online intervention necessitates the development of a structured and unified IPE curriculum to enhance the receptiveness and application of IPE in the medical field.

Dataset Information

Impact of an Online Nutrition Course to Address a Gap in Medical Education: A Feasibility Study.

Publications

Impact of an Online Nutrition Course to Address a Gap in Medical Education: A Feasibility Study.

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