Schroter Sara, Jenkins Dean, Playle Rebecca, Walsh Kieran, Probert Courtenay, Kellner Thomas, Arnhofer Gerhard, Owens David
BMJ Editorial Office, BMJ Group, BMA House, London, UK.
Trials. 2009 Jul 30;10:63. doi: 10.1186/1745-6215-10-63.
Continuous medical education is traditionally reliant to a large extent on self-directed learning based on individuals' perceived learning priorities. Evidence suggests that this ability to self-assess is limited, and more so in the least competent. Therefore, it may be of benefit to utilise some form of external assessment for this purpose. Many diabetes educational programmes have been introduced, but few have been assessed for their benefit in a systematic manner. As diabetes is an increasingly prevalent disease, methods for the dissemination and understanding of clinical guidelines need to be explored for their effectiveness. This paper describes the study design of a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of using an interactive online Diabetes Needs Assessment Tool (DNAT), that builds a learning curriculum based on identified knowledge gaps, compared with conventional self-directed learning. The study assesses the effect of these interventions on health professionals' knowledge of diabetes management, evaluates the acceptability of this process of learning and self-reported changes in clinical practice as a result of this novel educational process.
Following a baseline assessment, participants will be randomised to undergo a 4-month learning period where they will either be given access to the diabetes learning modules alone (control group) or a Diabetes Needs Assessment Tool (DNAT) plus the diabetes learning modules (intervention group). On completion of the DNAT, a personalized learning report will be created for each participant identifying needs alongside individualised recommendations of the most appropriate learning modules to meet those requirements. All participants will complete a Diabetes Knowledge Test before and immediately after the allocated learning and the primary outcome will be the state of knowledge at 4 months. Learners will also be surveyed immediately after the learning period to assess the acceptability of the learning formats and the perceived usefulness and usability of the materials. After a further month, all learners will receive a series of questions to evaluate self-reported changes in clinical practice as a result of this educational experience and asked to include specific examples of any changes in their diabetes care practice.
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN67215088.
传统上，继续医学教育在很大程度上依赖于基于个人感知的学习重点的自主学习。有证据表明，这种自我评估能力是有限的，能力最差的人更是如此。因此，为此目的采用某种形式的外部评估可能会有帮助。已经推出了许多糖尿病教育计划，但很少有计划经过系统评估其益处。由于糖尿病是一种日益普遍的疾病，需要探索临床指南的传播和理解方法的有效性。本文描述了一项随机对照试验的研究设计，以评估使用交互式在线糖尿病需求评估工具（DNAT）的有效性，该工具根据确定的知识差距构建学习课程，并与传统的自主学习进行比较。该研究评估这些干预措施对卫生专业人员糖尿病管理知识的影响，评估这种学习过程的可接受性以及由于这种新颖的教育过程而自我报告的临床实践变化。
在进行基线评估后，参与者将被随机分配到一个为期4个月的学习期，在此期间，他们要么只能访问糖尿病学习模块（对照组），要么可以使用糖尿病需求评估工具（DNAT）加上糖尿病学习模块（干预组）。完成DNAT后，将为每个参与者创建一份个性化的学习报告，确定需求并给出满足这些需求的最合适学习模块的个性化建议。所有参与者将在分配的学习之前和之后立即完成糖尿病知识测试，主要结果将是4个月时的知识状态。学习者还将在学习期结束后立即接受调查，以评估学习形式的可接受性以及材料的感知有用性和可用性。再过一个月后，所有学习者将收到一系列问题，以评估由于这种教育经历而自我报告的临床实践变化，并要求他们提供糖尿病护理实践中任何变化的具体例子。
当前受控试验ISRCTN67215088。
