Can elearning be used to teach palliative care? – medical students’ acceptance, knowledge, and self-estimation of competence in palliative care after elearning

Abstract

BackgroundUndergraduate palliative care education (UPCE) was mandatorily incorporated in medical education in Germany in 2009. Implementation of the new cross-sectional examination subject of palliative care (QB13) continues to be a major challenge for medical schools. It is clear that there is a need among students for more UPCE. On the other hand, there is a lack of teaching resources and patient availabilities for the practical lessons. Digital media and elearning might be one solution to this problem. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the elearning course Palliative Care Basics, with regard to students’ acceptance of this teaching method and their performance in the written examination on the topic of palliative care. In addition, students’ self-estimation in competence in palliative care was assessed.MethodsTo investigate students’ acceptance of the elearning course Palliative Care Basics, we conducted a cross-sectional study that is appropriate for proof-of-concept evaluation. The sample consisted of three cohorts of medical students of Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf (N = 670). The acceptance of the elearning approach was investigated by means of the standard evaluation of Heinrich Heine University. The effect of elearning on students’ self-estimation in palliative care competencies was measured by means of the German revised version of the Program in Palliative Care Education and Practice Questionnaire (PCEP-GR).ResultsThe elearning course Palliative Care Basics was well-received by medical students. The data yielded no significant effects of the elearning course on students’ self-estimation in palliative care competencies. There was a trend of the elearning course having a positive effect on the mark in written exam.ConclusionsElearning is a promising approach in UPCE and well-accepted by medical students. It may be able to increase students’ knowledge in palliative care. However, it is likely that there are other approaches needed to change students’ self-estimation in palliative care competencies. It seems plausible that experience-based learning and encounters with dying patients and their relatives are required to increases students’ self-estimation in palliative care competencies.Trial registrationHeinrich Heine University Medical School Clinical Trial Registry No. 4876 (date of approval 26.11.2014).

How effective is undergraduate palliative care teaching for medical students? A systematic literature review

“…The specific type of eLearning varied, but included: a virtual patient clinical case, 36 a computer-based decision aid for advance care planning content, 25 a flipped classroom online module coupled with a hospice care experience, 27 and an eLearning course. 22 The fifth study, an interactive e-learning course, is notable because it reported equivalence in increasing knowledge scores, when compared with small-group teaching sessions. 26 Of the eLearning studies included, this is the only one to provide a comparator to the eLearning resource.…”

“…The studies used different assessment methods and some studies used multiple methods of assessment (table 3); this made it difficult to assimilate study outcomes. Most commonly, multiple choice questions (MCQs) were used to test knowledge [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] or a combination of MCQs and true/ false questions. 25 The number of items testing knowledge differed between studies.…”

German version of the Death Attitudes Profile- Revised (DAP-GR) – translation and validation of a multidimensional measurement of attitudes towards death

“…For further studies, in which we will use the final instrument, we will incorporate that fact and will not only enquire if the participant had prior experience with death, but also find a way to assess the quality of the experience. It may also be surprising as other studies show that according to students' opinions, death education plays an important role in Undergraduate Palliative Care Education (UPCE) to achieve a positive self-estimation of competence and self-efficacy [57][58][59][60][61]. In our German sample, the confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit of the data to the original factor structure with minor adjustments allowing item covariations among Items 1 and 18 due to linguistic similarities.…”

Knowledge in Pain and Palliative Care in Medical Students From 2 Universities in Mozambique: A Cross Sectional Study

“…The timing of the intervention varied but it tended to be in the third year of the students' course. Some of them did not specify a year level (35) found that there was no need to introduce palliative care in the rst preclinical years.…”