Knowledge of professional healthcare providers about sickle cell disease: Impact of a distance education course

Abstract

ObjectiveTo assess the impact of the distance education course “Sickle Cell Disease: Primary Health Care Line” on knowledge acquisition of professional healthcare providers.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with a quantitative approach at the Educational and Support Center for Hemoglobinopathies (Cehmob-MG), state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 2016. One hundred and fifty-three out of 300 professional healthcare providers were invited to participate in the proposed distance course. Of the participating professional healthcare providers, 72 (47%) successfully concluded the course (Group A), whereas 81 (53%) did not complete their course assignments and did not meet the minimum requirements for regular attendance (Group B). Knowledge acquisition was assessed with the Knowledge of Sickle Cell Disease Instrument, DFConhecimento, applied using the web tool eSurv. Univariate analysis by Poisson regression was employed to assess the influence of sociodemographic variables on the DFConhecimento score and to select variables to compose the initial multivariate regression model (p-value < 0.20). The analysis was performed in the statistical programming environment R.ResultsThe average score was 9.76 for Group A and 6.54 for Group B. The two groups were considered statistically different (p-value < 0.05) for all items with the proportion of correct items being greater in Group A. Professional healthcare providers who concluded the course had a significantly higher DFConhecimento score (45%) when compared to those who did not successfully conclude the course.ConclusionParticipation in a distance education course on sickle cell disease had a positive impact on the acquisition of knowledge about the disease by professional healthcare providers.

Healthcare Workers’ Knowledge and Resource Availability for Care of Sickle Cell Disease in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

“…In the present study, we uncovered substantial lack of knowledge on SCD among healthcare workers in health facilities in Dar es Salaam where only one-quarter of healthcare workers had good knowledge. This proportion is low compared with that reported in the USA where over two-thirds of healthcare workers had good knowledge on SCD (Diniz et al, 2019b). Furthermore, the knowledge was also lower compared with that of healthcare workers in West Africa, particularly in the DRC and Nigeria, where 80 and 37.9% of healthcare workers, respectively, were found to have good knowledge on the nature of the disease, recognizable features, early SCD diagnosis, ideal timing for screening, and efforts to prevent SCD crisis (Adegoke et al, 2018;Mbiya et al, 2020).…”

“…Similarly, unlike national hospitals, other supporting tests such as urine and blood culture were not readily available at RRHs. However, point-of-care tests such as BP machines, stethoscopes, thermometers, pulse oximeters, hemocue machine, urinary dipstick, and weighing scales were commonly available at both RRH and MNH, implying capability for thorough physical examination, which is paramount during routine clinic visits (Diniz et al, 2019b).…”

<p>Exploring Adult Learners’ Viewpoints and Motivation Regarding Distance Learning in Medical Education</p>

“…6,[14][15][16][17][18][19] The outcomes of these projects were successful, and hence, adoption of distance education in the field of medical health was advocated in these cases. 6,[14][15][16][17][18][19] In general, experts recommend initiating DL with an assimilation strategy that considers the pros and cons before implementation. 17,18 Still, there is a need to widen the scope of DL training, particularly in new technical procedures and complex skills.…”

Virtualization of Higher Education during COVID-19: A Successful Case Study in Palestine

“…Distance education identified as a combination of multiple forms of education with the use of new information technology [22]. Distance education facilitates interaction, shared experiences, and development of knowledge in many places, and it enables communication between a large number of learners at different sites within a state or in several states [23].…”