Michael Weinstock1, Michael Pallaci2, Adam R Aluisio3, Benjamin Cooper4, Dana Gottlieb5, Andrew Grock6, Allen Frye7, Jeffrey N Love8, Rob Orman9, Jeff Riddell10. 1. Adena Emergency Medicine Residency, Chillicothe, OH; Department of Emergency Medicine, Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. Electronic address: mweinstock@mweinstock.com. 2. Adena Emergency Medicine Residency, Chillicothe, OH; Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, OH. 3. Department of Emergency Medicine, Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI. 4. Department of Emergency Medicine, McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), Houston TX. 5. Emergency Medicine, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Long Island, NY. 6. Division of Emergency Medicine, Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare System, and Emergency Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, LA. 7. Adena Regional Medical Center, Chillicothe, OH. 8. Department of Emergency Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC. 9. St. Charles Medical Center, Bend, OR. 10. Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.
Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVE: We determine whether interpolated questions in a podcast improve knowledge acquisition and retention. METHODS: This double-blinded controlled trial randomized trainees from 6 emergency medicine programs to listen to 1 of 2 versions of a podcast, produced de novo on the history of hypertension. The versions were identical except that 1 included 5 interpolated questions to highlight educational points (intervention). There were 2 postpodcast assessments, 1 within 48 hours of listening (immediate posttest) and a second 2 to 3 weeks later (retention test), consisting of the same 15 multiple-choice questions, 5 directly related to the interpolated questions and 10 unrelated. The primary outcome was the difference in intergroup mean assessment scores at each point. A sample size was calculated a priori to identify a significant interarm difference. RESULTS:One hundred thirty-seven emergency medicine trainees were randomized to listen to a podcast, 69 without interpolated questions (control) and 68 with them (intervention). Although no significant difference was detected at the immediate posttest, trainees randomized to the interpolated arm had a significantly higher mean score on the retention test, with a 5.6% absolute difference (95% confidence interval 0.2% to 10.9%). For the material covered by the interpolated questions, the intervention arm had significantly higher mean scores on both the immediate posttest and retention tests, with absolute differences of 8.7% (95% confidence interval 1.6% to 15.8%) and 10.1% (95% confidence interval 2.8% to 17.4%), respectively. There was no significant intergroup difference for noninterpolated questions. CONCLUSION: Podcasts containing interpolated questions improved knowledge retention at 2 to 3 weeks, driven by the retention of material covered by the interpolated questions. Although the gains may be modest, educational podcasters may improve knowledge retention by using interpolating questions.
RCT Entities:
STUDY OBJECTIVE: We determine whether interpolated questions in a podcast improve knowledge acquisition and retention. METHODS: This double-blinded controlled trial randomized trainees from 6 emergency medicine programs to listen to 1 of 2 versions of a podcast, produced de novo on the history of hypertension. The versions were identical except that 1 included 5 interpolated questions to highlight educational points (intervention). There were 2 postpodcast assessments, 1 within 48 hours of listening (immediate posttest) and a second 2 to 3 weeks later (retention test), consisting of the same 15 multiple-choice questions, 5 directly related to the interpolated questions and 10 unrelated. The primary outcome was the difference in intergroup mean assessment scores at each point. A sample size was calculated a priori to identify a significant interarm difference. RESULTS: One hundred thirty-seven emergency medicine trainees were randomized to listen to a podcast, 69 without interpolated questions (control) and 68 with them (intervention). Although no significant difference was detected at the immediate posttest, trainees randomized to the interpolated arm had a significantly higher mean score on the retention test, with a 5.6% absolute difference (95% confidence interval 0.2% to 10.9%). For the material covered by the interpolated questions, the intervention arm had significantly higher mean scores on both the immediate posttest and retention tests, with absolute differences of 8.7% (95% confidence interval 1.6% to 15.8%) and 10.1% (95% confidence interval 2.8% to 17.4%), respectively. There was no significant intergroup difference for noninterpolated questions. CONCLUSION: Podcasts containing interpolated questions improved knowledge retention at 2 to 3 weeks, driven by the retention of material covered by the interpolated questions. Although the gains may be modest, educational podcasters may improve knowledge retention by using interpolating questions.
Authors: Andrew Kalnow; Jennifer Beck-Esmay; Jeffrey Riddell; John Casey; Jestin N Carlson; Salim R Rezaie; Andrew Little Journal: Cureus Date: 2021-12-14