Katelyn H Wong1, Amanda Allen2, Timur S Durrani3,4,5. 1. School of Medicine, University of Connecticut, 263 Farmington Ave, Farmington, CT, 06032, USA. 2. American College of Medical Toxicology, Phoenix, AZ, USA. 3. School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, 1600 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA, 94115, USA. Timur.Durrani@ucsf.edu. 4. Division of OEM, ZSFG, Western States Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, Box 0843, San Francisco, CA, 94143-0843, USA. Timur.Durrani@ucsf.edu. 5. California Poison Control System - San Francisco Division, Box 1369, San Francisco, CA, 94143-1369, USA. Timur.Durrani@ucsf.edu.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Content and training about pediatric environmental health are lacking in healthcare professionals' education. In an initiative to improve pediatric environmental health education, the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) program offers free, interactive, web-based ("eLearning") modules on environmental health topics. The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of PEHSU eLearning modules in increasing knowledge about pediatric and reproductive environmental health. METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of 994 users who had completed at least one of the 12 PEHSU eLearning modules and its associated pre-test and post-test scores between March 2016 and November 2018. Users who completed modules between March 2016 and April 2018 received a 6-month follow-up survey to assess the impact of the knowledge gained on their clinical practice. RESULTS: A wide range of clinical professionals and nonclinical professionals utilized and completed the PEHSU eLearning modules. For all users, post-test scores were significantly higher than pre-test scores, with an increase of 30.55% ± 22.37 (paired t-test, p < 0.0001), after completion of eLearning modules. CONCLUSION: PEHSU eLearning modules are effective at increasing environmental health knowledge of clinical and nonclinical professionals. Further studies are needed to determine long-term knowledge retention and clinical impact.
OBJECTIVE: Content and training about pediatric environmental health are lacking in healthcare professionals' education. In an initiative to improve pediatric environmental health education, the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) program offers free, interactive, web-based ("eLearning") modules on environmental health topics. The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of PEHSU eLearning modules in increasing knowledge about pediatric and reproductive environmental health. METHODS: This is a retrospective analysis of 994 users who had completed at least one of the 12 PEHSU eLearning modules and its associated pre-test and post-test scores between March 2016 and November 2018. Users who completed modules between March 2016 and April 2018 received a 6-month follow-up survey to assess the impact of the knowledge gained on their clinical practice. RESULTS: A wide range of clinical professionals and nonclinical professionals utilized and completed the PEHSU eLearning modules. For all users, post-test scores were significantly higher than pre-test scores, with an increase of 30.55% ± 22.37 (paired t-test, p < 0.0001), after completion of eLearning modules. CONCLUSION: PEHSU eLearning modules are effective at increasing environmental health knowledge of clinical and nonclinical professionals. Further studies are needed to determine long-term knowledge retention and clinical impact.
Keywords:
Continuing medical education; Medical education research; Pediatric environmental health; Reproductive health; Web-based instruction; eLearning
Authors: Julie Hadley; Regina Kulier; Javier Zamora; Sjors F P J Coppus; Susanne Weinbrenner; Berrit Meyerrose; Tamas Decsi; Andrea R Horvath; Eva Nagy; Jose I Emparanza; Theodoros N Arvanitis; Amanda Burls; Juan B Cabello; Marcin Kaczor; Gianni Zanrei; Karen Pierer; Regina Kunz; Veronica Wilkie; David Wall; Ben Wj Mol; Khalid S Khan Journal: J R Soc Med Date: 2010-06-03 Impact factor: 5.344