Leveraging massive open online courses to expand quality of healthcare education to health practitioners in Rwanda (original) (raw)
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Research Square (Research Square), 2022
Background: Inequities in health outcomes across contexts are in part attributable to gaps in available medical training programs particularly impacting low-and middle-income countries. Shifting education resources online presents an opportunity to democratize access but presents challenges. Quality in digital scholarship is crucial to prevent learners' consumption of misinformation, while ensuring continued scholarly contribution from medical educators. Quality indicators typical for journals do not neatly apply to online resources and remain biased against those facing resource constraints. Similarly, widely applied peer-review processes for online learning content are lacking or inconsistent. Methods: Partners developed and implemented a 12-month, case-based discussion webinar series addressing Oxygen Therapy and Critical Care for healthcare workers facing the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the survey responses from webinar panelists across the globe, this project evaluated whether 3 criteria were met by panelists to serve as peer-reviewers and evaluated the quality of the blended-learning program by applying Glassick's standards of scholarship and the 13 quality indicators for online content developed by Lin et.al. Results: There was a response rate of 72%. Fifty-six percent of respondents were from high-income countries and 44% were from low-and middle-income countries. Most panelists met criteria set for peerreviewers, although criteria were met more often by those from high-income countries. Most respondents perceived preparation of materials for the blended-learning sessions as extremely adequate, appropriate, and effective. The online content was evaluated highly across the three domains of content, credibility, and design. Conclusions: The Oxygen Therapy and Critical Care series was well-received by learners and panelists alike. Quality across all indicators was deemed high for both the blended-learning and the online learning components. De ning quality indicators assists in both prospective design of online learning and during peer-review processes. The process of using webinar panelists as peer-reviewers is feasible, appropriate and presents opportunities for experts from low-and middle-income countries.
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) for continuing medical education – why and how?
Advances in Medical Education and Practice
Continuing medical education (CME) is meant to not only improve clinicians' knowledge and skills but also lead to better patient care processes and outcomes. The delivery of CME should be able to encourage the health providers to accept new evidencebased practices, and discard or discontinue less effective care. However, continuing use of expensive yet least effective and inappropriate tools and techniques predominates for CME delivery. Hence, the evidence shows a disconnect between evidence-based recommendations and real-world practiceborne out by less than optimal patient outcomes or treatment targets not being met especially in low-to middle-income countries. There is an ethical and professional obligation on CME-providers and decision-makers to safeguard that CME interventions are appraised not only for their quality and effectiveness but also for costeffectiveness. The process of learning needs to be engaging, convenient, user-friendly and of minimal cost, especially where it is most needed. Today's technology permits these characteristics to be integrated, along with further enhancement of the engagement process. We review the literature on the mechanics of CME learning that utilizes today's technology tools and propose a framework for more engaging, efficient and cost-effective approach that implements massive open online courses for CME, adapted for the twenty-first century.
Konuralp Medical Journal, 2023
After the increased number of COVID-19 positive patients, a plateau-phase and a decrease in the numbers were expected, followed by a second-phase which could lead to an increased health system workload. The importance of training well-educated and qualified healthcare professionals (HPs) has been reconsidered. The rapid spread of the epidemic revealed the limitations of traditional method education. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) were offered as a solution to keep the information up-to-date and accessible. The aim of our study was to evaluate the perceptions and experiences of healthcare professionals on strengthening the health system during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional multi-centered study, an online survey was applied to HPs between February-May 2021. There were 28 participating countries. Due to international participation, the survey was conducted in English. Results: There were 88 female and 87 male participants. Most of the participants were from Europe and Euroasia. Most of them reported their income as 501−501-501−1500 US Dollars). The duration of job experience was between 5-15 years. 111 of them have completed a postdoctoral degree. Conclusions: According to the survey, all the groups reported as the effect of strengthening primary care by MOOCs was positive.
BMJ Open, 2019
IntroductionMassive open online courses (MOOCs) offer a flexible approach to online and distance learning, and are growing in popularity. Several MOOCs are now available, to help learners build on their knowledge in a number of healthcare topics. More research is needed to determine the effectiveness of MOOCs as an online education tool, and explore their long-term impact on learners’ professional practice. We present a protocol describing the design of comprehensive, mixed-methods evaluation of a MOOC, ‘QualityImprovement (QI) inHealthcare: the Case for Change’, which aims to improve learner’s knowledge and understanding of QI approaches in healthcare, and to increase their confidence in participating, and possibly leading QI projects.Methods and analysisA pre-post study design using quantitative and qualitative methods will be used to evaluate the QI MOOC. Different elements of the RE-AIM (reach, effectiveness and maintenance) and Kirkpatrick (reaction, learning and behaviour) mod...
Twelve tips for developing and delivering a massive open online course in medical education
Medical teacher, 2017
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are a novel mode of online learning. They are typically based on higher education courses and can attract a high number of learners, often in the thousands. They are distinct from on-campus education and deliver the learning objectives through a series of short videos, recommended readings and discussion fora, alongside automated assessments. Within medical education the role of MOOCs remains unclear, with recent proposals including continuing professional development, interprofessional education or integration into campus-based blended learning curricula. In this twelve tips article, we aim to provide a framework for readers to use when developing, delivering and evaluating a MOOC within medical education based on the literature and our own experience. Practical advice is provided on how to design the appropriate curriculum, engage with learners on the platform, select suitable assessments, and comprehensively evaluate the impact of your course.
Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 2018
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are unlimited web-based courses accessed through computers, smartphones, or other digital devices. Although they have multiple advantages, a common challenge is the low course completion rates. Young family doctors of the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) from more than 20 countries recently completed an initiative that combined social media platforms with a MOOC offered by Harvard University. This resulted in a completion rate five times greater than the baseline rate. We propose perfecting and expanding this method to augment continued medical education, collaboration, and best practice exchange among WONCA’s members and participating organizations worldwide.
Medical Education Online
Background: Short-term experiences in global health (STEGH) are increasingly common in medical education, as they can provide learners with opportunities for service, learning, and sharing perspectives. Academic institutions need high-quality preparatory curricula and mentorship to prepare learners for potential challenges in ethics, cultural sensitivity, and personal safety; however, availability and quality of these are variable. Objective: The objective of this study is to create and evaluate an open-access, interactive massive open online course (MOOC) that prepares learners to safely and effectively participate in STEGH, permits flexible and asynchronous learning, is free of charge, and provides a certificate upon successful completion. Methods: Global health experts from 8 countries, 42 institutions, and 7 specialties collaborated to create The Practitioner's Guide to Global Health (PGGH): the first course of this kind on the edX platform. Demographic data, pre-and posttests, and course evaluations were collected and analyzed. Results: Within its first year, PGGH enrolled 5935 learners from 163 countries. In a limited sample of 109 learners, mean posttest scores were significantly improved (p < 0.01). In the course's second year, 213 sampled learners had significant improvement (p < 0.001). Conclusion: We created and evaluated the first interactive, asynchronous, free-of-charge global health preparation MOOC. The course has had significant interest from US-based and international learners, and posttest scores have shown significant improvement.