'A basic understanding'; evaluation of a blended training programme for healthcare providers in hospital-based palliative care to improve communication with patients with limited health literacy

BACKGROUND

The non-curative setting makes communication and shared decision-making in palliative care extremely demanding. This is even more so for patients with limited health literacy. So far, research in palliative care focusing on shared decision-making with patients with limited health literacy is lacking. Recent research from our team indicates that the assessment of these patients' understanding of their situation and the implementation of shared decision-making in palliative care, needs improvement.

METHODS

To improve communication and decision-making, especially with patients with limited health literacy, we developed and evaluated a blended training programme for healthcare providers. The training programme comprised of an e-learning and a team training. The evaluation was performed by 1. conducting interviews (n = 15) focused on evaluating the whole programme and, 2. coding video-recorded outpatient consultations on the extent to which providers involved patients in decision-making before (n = 19) and after (n = 20) the intervention, using the 5-item OPTION coding instrument.

RESULTS

The interviews showed that healthcare providers valued the skills they had learned during the e-learning and team training. Providers specifically valued the teach-back technique, learned to use simpler wording and felt better able to recognize patients with limited health literacy. Many providers reported a change in communication behaviour as a consequence of the training programme. Suggestions for improvement for both e-learning and training were, amongst others, a follow-up team training course and a new scenarios for the e-learning about discussing palliative care. For both the pre- and the post-measurement, involving patients in decision-making lies between a minimal and a moderate effort; differences were not significant.

CONCLUSIONS

The e-learning and team training were valued positively by the healthcare providers. Adaptations to the e-learning have been made after evaluation. The e-learning has been implemented in several hospitals and medical education. To improve shared decision-making in practice a more sustained effort is needed.

Standard basic life support training of the European Resuscitation Council versus blended training: a randomized trial of a new teaching method

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the immediate and 9-month results of blended versus standard training in basic life support and the use of an automatic external defibrillator (BLS/AED).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Randomized trial comparing the results of standard BLS/AED training to blended training. The control group received 4 hours of standard instruction from a trainer and the experimental blended-training group received 2 hours of virtual training and 2 hours of in-person instruction.

RESULTS

Eighty-nine students participated, 45 in the control group and 44 in the experimental group. The controls achieved better mean (SD) knowledge scores immediately after training (8.6 [0.9] vs 8.0 [1.14] in the experimental group, P=.013). The blended training group scored better on certain skill markers (hands-off time in seconds and compressions followed by complete chest recoil). Participant knowledge had decreased at 9 months without significant between-group differences. Overall, retention fell from a score of 8.31 (1.1) to 6.04 (1.6) (P=.001) in 9 months and the loss was similar in the 2 groups. No differences in practical skills between the groups were observed at the end of the course or 9 months later.

CONCLUSION

The blended training method led to better results on some skill items.

The effect of blended training on the quality of life of children with nephrotic syndrome

BACKGROUND

Nephrotic syndrome is a common nephrology disorder in children that can affect the quality of health of children and adolescents significantly. Training children with nephrotic syndrome with special emphasis on the use of blended training can provide new opportunities for improving the quality of life of these subjects. The present study was conducted in order to investigate the effect of blended training on quality of life in children with nephrotic syndrome.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present non-randomized clinical trial was carried out, in a time period from January 2012 to June 2013, on 76 children aged 8-12 years with nephrotic syndrome; the subjects were through continuous sampling. The intervention group subjects were selected from the Ali Asghar and Pediatric Medical Centers and the control group subjects were selected from the Mofid Hospital of Tehran. The control group received only previous routine interventions, but the intervention group, in addition to previous routine interventions, received part of the training for nephrotic syndrome. The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ 4.0 (generic core scales) questionnaire was implemented in the present study. Collected data were analyzed by the SPSS 21; t-test and paired t-test were used to compare the mean scores of the two groups.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of quality of life before intervention; but, the quality of life of the intervention group increased to the control group after intervention (P-value < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Blended training can improve the quality of life of children with chronic diseases. Therefore, it is recommended to carry out educational intervention for parents of these children in order to increase their coping skills.

Randomised trial

AIM OF THE STUDY

The objective of this study was to compare the immediate and 6-month efficacy of basic life support (BLS) and automatic external defibrillation (AED) training using standard or blended methods.

METHODS

First-year students of medicine and nursing (n = 129) were randomly assigned to a control group (face-to-face training based on the European Resuscitation Council [ERC] Guidelines) or to an experimental group that trained with a self-training video, a new website, a Moodle platform, an intelligent manikin, and 45 min of instructor presence. Both groups were homogeneous and were evaluated identically. Theoretical knowledge was evaluated using a multi-choice questionnaire (MCQ). Skill performance was evaluated by the instructor's rubric and on a high-fidelity Resusci Anne QCPR manikin.

RESULTS

Immediately after the course, there were no statistically significant differences in knowledge between the two groups. The median score of practical evaluation assessed by the instructor was significantly better in the experimental group (8.15, SD 0.93 vs 7.7, SD 1.18; P = 0.02). No differences between groups were found when using a high-fidelity manikin to evaluate chest compressions and lung inflations. At six months, the scores in knowledge and skill performance were significantly lower compared to the evaluations at the end of the instruction, but they remained still higher compared to baseline. The experimental group had higher scores in practical skills evaluated by the instructor than the control group (7.44, SD 1.85 vs 6.10, SD 2.6; P = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

The blended method provides the same or even higher levels of knowledge and skills than standard instruction both immediately after the course and six months later.

Blended Training for Frontline Health Functionaries: Is this the Way Ahead?

Background:

To test the change in the knowledge of the study participants following a Blended Training and Learning Approach (BTLA). Secondly, the paper also tries to discuss the use of this method over the classical classroom based trainings. Frontline health functionaries are the backbone of almost all health goals. It is therefore essential to ensure proper training of this cadre of workers for optimum service delivery. The present paper tries to discuss the use of an effective new training pedagogy over the classical classroom based trainings.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2013 to April 2014 in all districts in the state of Odisha. The study participants comprised of two groups. Group 1: Integrated Child Development Services supervisors, Child Development Project Officers received training on reduction of stunting. Group 2: Nutrition Counselors and Auxiliary Nurses and Midwifes received training on management of severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Selection of participants was done following complete enumeration technique. The training effectiveness was measured using paired t-test. Out of approximately 2400 participants identified across the state of Odisha, 2350 participants provided consent to participate in the study.

Results:

The change in knowledge was determined by using paired t-test. The results of the paired t-test for the training on reduction of stunting were significant, P < 0.001, indicates that there was a significant increase in the score from (mean = 11.4; standard deviation [SD] = 2.34) to the post-test (mean = 13.8; SD = 2.34). The mean increase was 2.4 with 95% confidence interval [CI] for the difference between means of 11.4 and 13.8. Similar test was conducted to evaluate the training on SAM. The results of the paired t-test were significant, P < 0.001, indicates that there was a significant increase in the score from (mean = 14.7; SD = 2.8) to the post-test (mean = 15.8; SD = 2.3). The mean increase was 1.12 with 95% CI for the difference between means of mean = 14.7 to mean = 15.8. There are different approaches that can be adapted during any training ranging from the traditional form of classroom teaching to the new technologically advanced forms of training such as e-learning. Understanding the merits and demerits, there was the felt need to try a newer approach of training. Thus, the method of BTLA was tried in the study and was proved to be effective.

Conclusions:

The newly tried and tested pedagogy of training would provide the necessary evidence for future policy decisions.