Edward Anbrasi, Kalyesubula Robert, Pariyo George, Kyazze Andrew Peter, Hu Xiao, Appel Lawrence J, Matsushita Kunihiro
Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
Departments of Medicine and Physiology, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
PLOS Glob Public Health. 2023 Jul 17;3(7):e0001609. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001609. eCollection 2023.
The growing burden of hypertension (HT) is projected to reach 1.56 billion globally by 2025 and is an increasing public health concern, even for low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) like Uganda, where the prevalence of HT is 31.5%. The objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of a freely available HT online course on knowledge competencies for medical students in Uganda. The online course was developed by a multidisciplinary team at Johns Hopkins University to address HT control in resource-constrained healthcare settings. Students in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th years of medical school were randomly selected to participate in the online course. Pre and post knowledge tests were administered using an online survey system. Of the 201 invited students, 121 (60.2%) completed the study. Significant improvements in mean knowledge scores were evident following the online course completion for Module 1, Fundamentals of HT (21.9±2.5 to 23.7±2.5, p<0.001), and Module 2, Basics of HT Management (14.9±3.3 to 18.5±4.3, p<0.001). No statistically significant differences were evident by gender or school year. Students who took a shorter duration to complete the course had significantly higher mean score improvement between pre- and post-test (mean score improvement 7.0 if <4 weeks, 3.6 if 4-8 weeks, and 3.7 if >8 weeks, p<0.003). Students recognized information on blood pressure measurement (32.2%) and HT management (22.3%) as the most important concept addressed in the course. A self-paced online course, complementing medical school training, improved knowledge on HT burden and management in Uganda.
预计到2025年，全球高血压负担将增至15.6亿例，这日益引起了公众对健康问题的关注，即使在像乌干达这样的低收入和中等收入国家也是如此，该国高血压患病率为31.5%。本研究的目的是测试一门免费的高血压在线课程对乌干达医学生知识能力的有效性。该在线课程由约翰·霍普金斯大学的一个多学科团队开发，旨在解决资源有限的医疗环境中的高血压控制问题。医学院三、四、五年级的学生被随机挑选参加该在线课程。使用在线调查系统进行课前和课后知识测试。在201名受邀学生中，121名（60.2%）完成了研究。完成在线课程后，模块1“高血压基础”（从21.9±2.5提高到23.7±2.5，p<0.001）和模块2“高血压管理基础”（从14.9±3.3提高到18.5±4.3，p<0.001）的平均知识得分有显著提高。按性别或学年划分，未发现统计学上的显著差异。完成课程用时较短的学生在测试前后的平均得分提高显著更高（如果用时<4周，平均得分提高7.0；如果用时4-8周，平均得分提高3.6；如果用时>8周，平均得分提高3.7，p<0.003）。学生们认为有关血压测量（32.2%）和高血压管理（22.3%）的信息是课程中最重要的概念。一门自主学习的在线课程，作为医学院校培训的补充，提高了乌干达学生对高血压负担和管理的认识。
