A roadmap for the development and evaluation of the eHealthResp online course

Abstract

Background Inappropriate antibiotic use constitutes one of the most concerning public health issues, being one of the main causes of antibiotic resistance. Hence, to tackle this issue, it is important to encourage the development of educational interventions for health practitioners, namely by using digital health tools. This study focuses on the description of the development and validation process of the eHealthResp online course, a web platform directed to physicians and pharmacists, with the overall goal of improving antibiotic use for respiratory tract infections, along with the assessment of its usability. Methods The eHealthResp platform and the courses, developed with a user-centered design and based on Wordpress and MySQL, were based on a previously developed online course. A questionnaire to assess the usability was distributed among physicians (n = 6) and pharmacists (n = 6). Based on the obtained results, statistical analyses were conducted to calculate the usability score and appraise the design of the online course, as well as to compare the overall scores attributed by both groups. Further qualitative comments provided by the participants have also been analyzed. Results The eHealthResp contains two online courses directed to physicians and pharmacists aiming to aid in the management of respiratory tract infections. The average usability score of the eHealthResp online courses for physicians and pharmacists was of 78.33 (±11.57, 95%CI), and 83.75 (±15.90, 95%CI), respectively. Qualitative feedback emphasized the usefulness of the course, including overall positive reviews regarding user-friendliness and consistency. Conclusions This study led us to conclude that the eHealthResp online course is not recognized as a complex web platform, as both qualitative and quantitative feedback obtained were globally positive.

Improving Pharmacists’ Awareness of Inadequate Antibiotic Use for URTIs through an Educational Intervention: A Pilot Study

“…The contents and the usability of the web platform where the online course is hosted was already validated by pharmacists in terms of contents by using a Delphi Method approach, as well as to its usability, through usability tests [ 20 , 21 , 22 ].…”

“…The course is composed of 4 modules with complete, state of the art information [ 21 ] about URTIs, namely an introductory module (module 0), common cold and flu (module 1), tracheobronchitis, pharyngotonsillitis, and rhinosinusitis (module 2), as well an acting protocol for pharmacists regarding URTIs (module 3). A final evaluation exam composed by 4 clinical cases with 2 multiple-choice questions each regarding the most probable diagnosis and the most adequate treatment is also part of the online course [ 20 , 21 ].…”

“…Combining these educational interventions with e-health tools may be the best approach to promote good clinical practices and help patients with their clinical conditions, without putting the future of antibiotics at risk. In fact, it has been shown that clinical decision support systems can be a useful complementary tool to assist health professionals in their daily work, for instance for managing patient symptoms and dispensing proper medicines for conditions in which an antibiotic may not be necessarily regarded as first line treatment [ 16 , 20 , 21 ].…”

“…In light of all that has been stated above, we developed the eHealthResp project, which included an online course and a mobile app, to help pharmacists with the management of information and decision making regarding upper respiratory infections, with the aim of promoting a proper use of antibiotics [ 20 ].…”

eHealthResp, a Digital Intervention to Improve Antibiotic Prescribing in Respiratory Infections: A Pilot Study

“…Both the courses and the mobile application have been previously validated by experts in relation to their contents (including the clinical cases) by using the Delphi Method approach [ 22 ], as well as for their usability, through usability testing [ 23 , 24 ], thus highlighting its user-friendliness, consistency, and usefulness.…”