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Improvements in primary care skills and knowledge with a vocational training program - a pre-post survey.

ABSTRACT: Facing the upcoming shortage of primary care physicians (PCPs), medical and governmental organizations have recently made major investments to foster vocational training programs in Switzerland, designed to provide context-specific training for trainees in primary care practices. Less is known about the impact of these programs on the skills and specific knowledge of trainees. We aimed to evaluate the Cantonal program for vocational primary care training in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland's largest Canton.We undertook a pretest-posttest study and surveyed physicians before and after participating in the Cantonal program for vocational primary care training in the Swiss Canton of Zurich. All trainees who participated in the program from 2013 until the end of 2015 were eligible. Primary outcome was the proportion of trainees being confident about their professional, organizational, examination and management skills before and after completing vocational training. Secondary outcomes were the proportion of trainees stating knowledge gain in entrepreneurship and the proportion of trainees being motivated to pursue a career as PCP.Data of 47 trainees participating in the vocational training between 2013 and 2015 were eligible. In total, 35 (74.5%) participated in the T1 survey and 34 (72.3%) in the T2 survey. At T2, significantly more trainees (T1: 11%-89%, T2: 79%-100%) stated to be at least "slightly confident" about their skills (p<0.05 for each individual skill). Knowledge gain in entrepreneurship was highly expected and experienced by the trainees (55%-77% of respondents) in case of medicine-specific contents, but hardly expected in case of general business contents (≤47% of respondents). Concerning trainees' motivation to pursue a career as PCP, we observed only a minimal, statistically insignificant change, suggesting that the vocational training did not alter trainees' preconceived career plans as PCP.Given the measured increase in confidence, evaluation of training programs should focus on operationalizing key skills of PCPs. Given the lack of change in trainees' motivation; however, statements about the effect of program implementation on national shortage of PCPs cannot be made.

SUBMITTER: Djalali S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5538539 | biostudies-other | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:IntroductionMusculoskeletal injuries (MSI) comprise a large portion of the trauma burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Rwanda recently launched its first emergency medicine training program (EMTP) at the University Teaching Hospital-Kigali (UTH-K), which may help to treat such injuries; yet no current epidemiological data is available on MSI in Rwanda.MethodsWe conducted this pre-post study during two data collection periods at the UTH-K from November 2012 to July 2016. Data collection for MSI is limited and thus is specific to fractures. We included all patients with open, closed, or mixed fractures, hereafter referred to as MSI. Gathered information included demographics and outcomes including death, traumatic complications, and length of hospital stay, before and after the implementation of the EMTP.ResultsWe collected data from 3609 patients. Of those records, 691 patients were treated for fractures, and 674 of them had sufficient EMTP data measured for inclusion in the analysis of results (279 from pre-EMTP and 375 from post-EMTP). Patient demographics demonstrate that a majority of MSI cases are male (71.6% male vs 28.4% female) and young (64.3% below 35 years of age). Among mechanisms of injury, major causes included road traffic accidents (48.1%), falls (34.2%), and assault (6.0%). There was also an observed association between EMTP and trends of the three primary outcomes: a reduction of death in the emergency department (ED) from those with MSI by 89.9%, from 2.51% to 0.25% (p = 0.0077); a reduction in traumatic complications for MSI patients by 71.7%, from 3.58% to 1.01% (p = 0.0211); and a reduction in duration of stay in the ED among those with MSI by 52.7% or 2.81 days on average, from 5.33 to 2.52 days (p = 0.0437).ConclusionThis study reveals the current epidemiology of MSI morbidity and mortality for a major Rwandan teaching hospital and the potential impacts of EM training implementation among those with MSI. Residency training programs such as EMTP appear capable of reducing mortality, complications, and ED length of stay among those with MSI caused by fractures. Such findings underscore the efficacy and importance of investments in educating the next generation of health professionals to combat prevalent MSI within their communities.

Project description:BackgroundVirtual reality (VR)-based simulation in hospital settings facilitates the acquisition of skills without compromising patient safety. Despite regular text-based training, a baseline survey of randomly selected healthcare providers revealed deficiencies in their knowledge, confidence, comfort, and care skills regarding tracheostomy. This prospective pre-post study compared the effectiveness of regular text- and VR-based intervention modules in training healthcare providers' self-efficacy in tracheostomy care skills.MethodsBetween January 2018 and January 2020, 60 healthcare providers, including physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists, were enrolled. For the intervention, a newly developed head-mounted display (HMD) and web VR materials were implemented in training and clinical services. Subsequently, in-hospital healthcare providers were trained using either text or head-mounted display virtual reality (HMD-VR) materials in the regular and intervention modules, respectively. For tracheostomy care skills, preceptors directly audited the performance of trainees and provided feedback.ResultsAt baseline, the degree of trainees' agreement with the self-efficacy-related statements, including the aspects of familiarity, confidence, and anxiety about tracheostomy-related knowledge and care skills, were not different between the control and intervention groups. At follow-up stage, compared with the regular group, a higher percentage of intervention group' trainees reported that they are "strongly agree" or "somewhat agree" that the HMD-VR simulation increases their self-efficacy, including the aspects of familiarity and confidence, and reduced their anxiety about tracheostomy-related knowledge and care skills. After implementation, a higher degree of trainees' average satisfaction with VR-based training and VR materials was observed in the intervention group than in the regular group. Most reported that VR materials enabled accurate messaging and decreased anxiety. The increasing trend of the average written test and hands-on tracheostomy care skills scores among the intervention group trainees was significant compared to those in the regular group. The benefits of HMD-VR simulations and web-VR material-based clinical services for in-hospital healthcare providers and patient families persisted until 3 to 4 weeks later.ConclusionThe current study suggests that VR materials significantly enhance trainees' self-efficacy (increased familiarity, increased confidence, and reduced anxiety) and their satisfaction with the training, while motivating them to use acquired knowledge and skills in clinical practice.

Project description:BACKGROUND:The performance of primary health care providers regarding DM management is poor in rural China, and effective training methods for providers are urgently needed. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of web-based training for improving knowledge about DM management among primary health care providers in rural China and to further compare the effects of the training effect between primary health care providers with different backgrounds. METHODS:A pre-post intervention study was conducted from April to August 2014. In this study, a total of 901 primary health care workers were recruited from six counties in Hubei province. To evaluate the effect of the web-based training, the knowledge achievement of participants was measured with multiple choice questions (MCQ) at baseline, at the end of two weeks of training and at three months after training. A mixed linear model (MLM) was used to measure group differences in the mean scores at baseline and follow-up. RESULTS:After the web-based training, the knowledge scores of the village doctors increased from 73.58 at baseline to 89.98 at posttest and to 84.57 three months after the training. For township health workers, we observed an upward trend in scores from 78.87 at the pre-test to 91.72 at the second test, and at the three months after the training, the scores increased to 94.91. For village doctors, greater knowledge achievement was observed between the scores at baseline and after two weeks of training(adjusted difference: 3.55, P = 0.03) compared to that observed for the township health workers, while decreased their knowledge achievement between baseline and the third-test compared with that of township health workers (adjusted difference: 5.05, P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS:This study suggested that web-based training was an effective method for improving the knowledge of primary health care providers about management of DM in remote areas. Compared with the effect of the training on village doctors, the training had a poor short-term effect on township health workers but a better long-term effect.

Project description:Background: Effective training programs for primary care providers (PCPs) to support dementia detection are needed, especially in developing countries. This study aimed to investigate the effect of an enhanced training on the competency and service of PCPs for dementia detection. Methods: We conducted a cluster randomized trial in Beijing, China. Community healthcare centers (CHCs) located in Fengtai or Fangshan District were eligible. The enrolled CHCs in each district were randomly assigned to the standard or the enhanced training group at a 1:1 ratio. PCPs serving older adults in enrolled CHCs were eligible to participate. The standard training group received three-hour didactic lectures, three monthly supervisions, 3 months of online support and dementia screening packages. The enhanced training group additionally received three monthly face-to-face supervisions and 3 months of online support. The participants became aware of their group membership at the end of the standard training. The knowledge, attitudes, service, and skills regarding dementia detection were assessed using questionnaires and submitted dementia detection records, respectively. Results: A total of 23 and 21 CHCs were randomly assigned to the standard and the enhanced training group, respectively, and 58 participants from 20 CHCs assigned to the standard training group and 48 from 16 CHCs assigned to the enhanced training group were included in the final analysis (mean age 37.5 years, and 67.0% women). A significant increase in the knowledge score was found in both groups, but the increase was similar in the two groups (P = 0.262). The attitude score remained stable in both groups, and no between-group difference was found. Compared with the baseline, both groups reported an increase in dementia detection service, especially the enhanced training group (24.1% to 31.0% in the standard training group and 14.6% to 45.8% in the enhanced training group). The completion rate and accuracy of submitted dementia detection records in the enhanced training group were both significantly higher than those in the standard training group (both P < 0.001). Conclusion: The enhanced training had similar effect on the knowledge of PCPs comparing with the standard training, but was better on continuous service and skills of PCPs related to dementia detection. Trial registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02782000. Registration date: May 2016. The trial was completed in July 2017.

Project description:BackgroundChanging people's behaviour by giving advice and instruction, as traditionally provided in healthcare consultations, is usually ineffective. Healthy Conversation Skills (HCS) training enhances health professionals' communication skills and ability to empower and motivate people in health behaviour change. Guided by the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), this study examined the impact of HCS training on health professional barriers to conducting behaviour change conversations in both clinical and non-clinical settings. Secondary aims were to i) identify health professionals' barriers to having behaviour change conversations, and explore the ii) effect of HCS training on health professionals' competence and attitudes to adopting HCS, iii) feasibility, acceptability and appropriateness of using HCS in their clinical and non-clinical roles, and iv) acceptability and quality of HCS training.MethodsHCS training was conducted in October-November 2019 and February 2020. Pre-training (T1), post-training (T2) and follow-up (T3; 6-10 weeks post-training) surveys collected data on demographics and changes in competence, confidence, importance and usefulness (10-point Likert scale, where 10 = highest score) of conducting behaviour change conversations. Validated items assessing barriers to having these conversations were based on eight TDF domains. Post-training acceptability and quality of training was assessed. Data were summarised using descriptive statistics, and differences between TDF domain scores at the specific time points were analysed using Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank tests.ResultsSixty-four participants consented to complete surveys (97% women; 16% identified as Aboriginal), with 37 employed in clinical settings and 27 in non-clinical settings. The training improved scores for the TDF domains of skills (T1: median (interquartile range) = 4.7(3.3-5.3); T3 = 5.7(5.3-6.0), p < 0.01), belief about capabilities (T1 = 4.7(3.3-6.0); T3 = 5.7(5.0-6.0), p < 0.01), and goals (T1 = 4.3(3.7-5.0); T3 = 4.7(4.3-5.3), p < 0.01) at follow-up. Competence in using 'open discovery questions' increased post-training (T1 = 25% of responses; T2 = 96% of responses; T3 = 87% of responses, p < 0.001), as did participants' confidence for having behaviour change conversations (T1 = 6.0(4.7-7.6); T2 = 8.1(7.1-8.8), p < 0.001), including an increased confidence in having behaviour change conversations with Aboriginal clients (T1 = 5.0(2.7-6.3); T2 = 7.6(6.4-8.3), p < 0.001).ConclusionsProvision of additional support strategies to address intentions; memory, attention and decision processes; and behavioural regulation may enhance adoption and maintenance of HCS in routine practice. Wider implementation of HCS training could be an effective strategy to building capacity and support health professionals to use a person-centred, opportunistic approach to health behaviour change.

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Improvements in primary care skills and knowledge with a vocational training program - a pre-post survey.

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