Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Dec 5, 2018
Date Accepted: Jan 12, 2019
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Digital health professionals’ diabetes management education and training: a systematic review by the Digital Health Education collaboration
ABSTRACT
Background:
There is a shortage of healthcare professionals competent in diabetes management worldwide. Digital education is increasingly used in educating health professionals in chronic disease management for its convenience and easy accessibility. Reviews focusing on technology-based diabetes self-management education (DSME) for patients have shown an increase in diabetes knowledge and glycaemic control, but the effectiveness of digital education for health professionals in diabetes management is unknown.
Objective:
The objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness and economic impact of digital education in improving health professionals’ knowledge, skills, attitudes, clinical competencies for diabetes-management and its impact on patient outcomes.
Methods:
We included randomized controlled trials evaluating the impact of digitalized diabetes management education for healthcare professionals pre- and post-registration. Publications from 1990 to 2017 were searched in MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, CINAHL, ERIC and Web of Science. Screening, data extraction, risk of bias and GRADE quality assessment were conducted independently by two authors.
Results:
Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies were heterogeneous in terms of digital education modality, comparator, outcome measures and intervention duration. Most studies comparing digital or blended learning to traditional learning without digital media reported significantly higher knowledge and skills score in the intervention group. There was little or no between-group differences in patient outcomes or economic impact. The quality of evidence was judged as low due to high risk of bias and inconsistencies for majority of the studies.
Conclusions:
Digital education seems to be more effective in improving diabetes management-related knowledge and skills in health professionals compared to usual or traditional learning. The paucity and low evidence quality calls for urgent and well-designed studies focusing on patient outcomes, cost-effectiveness of digital education and its impact in both high, low and middle-income countries. Clinical Trial: n/a
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