Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Medical Education
Date Submitted: Apr 6, 2018
Date Accepted: Jan 6, 2019
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Profiles of Participating Healthcare Providers and Their Evaluations of a Statewide Online Education Program for Dissemination of HIV, HCV, and STD Clinical Evidence
ABSTRACT
Background:
Timely and effective dissemination of the latest clinical evidence to healthcare providers is essential for translating biomedical research into routine patient care. Online platforms offer unique opportunities for medical knowledge dissemination.
Objective:
In this study, we report: (1) the profiles of healthcare providers participating in the New York State HIV-HCV-STD Clinical Education Initiative online program; and (2) their evaluations of the online continuing professional development courses.
Methods:
We compiled the professional and personal background information of the clinicians who completed at least one online course. We collected their self-reported program evaluation data with regard to the course content, format, knowledge increase, and impact to clinical practice.
Results:
We recorded a total of 4,363 completions of 88 online courses by 1,976 unique clinicians during a 12-month study period. The clinicians’ background was diverse in terms of demographics, education levels, professional disciplines, practice years, employment settings, caseloads, and clinical services. The evaluation of online courses was very positive (usefulness/relevant 91.08%, easy comprehension 89.09%, knowledgeable trainer 92.00%, appropriate format 84.35%, knowledge increase 48.52%, intention to use knowledge 85.26%, and plan to change practice 21.98%). Comparison with the reference data indicated that the online program successfully reached out to the primary care communities. Both the younger generation and the senior healthcare providers were attracted to the online program. High quality multimedia resources, flexibility of access, ease of use, and provision of continuing professional development credits contributed to the initial success of this online clinical education program.
Conclusions:
We have successfully characterized a diverse group of clinicians participating in a statewide online continuing professional development program. The evaluation has shown effective use of online resources to disseminate HIV, HCV, and STD clinical evidence to primary care clinicians.
Citation
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