Preliminary Evaluation of a Web-Based International Journal Club for Ketamine in Psychiatric Disorders: Cross-Sectional Survey Study (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Improving clinical outcomes in mental health disorders involves both identifying and disseminating new treatments. Interest in the uptake of novel rapid acting antidepressants, like ketamine and related compounds, for psychiatric disorders is accelerating and medical education on their use is required. OBJECTIVE The paper describes an initiative of a small UK group of academic clinicians and psychiatry trainees that during the COVID-19 pandemic launched the first free online journal club dedicated to educating and connecting international ketamine researchers and clinicians on the use of ketamine in psychiatric disorders. The journal club met routinely and the format consisted of various segments which evolved to allow for bidirectional discussions, sharing of ideas, and networking between presenters and audience members. The formal presentations were recorded and uploaded to a website. METHODS A website, mass emailing and word of mouth were used to announce the reoccuring online journal club. Evaluation was conducted by two anonymous online surveys, for speakers and audience members respectively, and emailed to a mailing list between November 2021 to February 2022. Speakers were given 14 statements, and audience members 12 statements, to which they could either agree, disagree, or neither agree nor disagree with. They were asked to select their primary career role and leave an optional written feedback. Survey statements were categorized according to satisfaction and impact. Responses were compared between both groups and summarized alongside lessons learned from designing the format. RESULTS The journal club had met online 24 times by the end of the study. An average of 51 participants either attended live and or watched the recordings from each session. Twenty-four speakers from 8 countries, consisting mostly of clinicians and clinician-researchers, had presented their most recent ketamine publications to an audience of international professionals. Thirty total survey responses were obtained, 12 from speakers (40%) and 18 from audience members (60%). From the surveys, there was an overall agreement to statements between the speakers and audience members for the perceived satisfaction and impact of the journal club’s format, and positive written feedback was received. CONCLUSIONS In terms of designing the best format for the sharing of new ketamine research publications within the scientific community, there is an ongoing need for further evaluation of the current group's model. A larger sample size and a more methodologically rigorous approach is needed to support its generalisability for delivering evidence-based virtual medical education.