Factors influencing the implementation, adoption, use, sustainability and scalability of eLearning for family medicine specialty training: a systematic review protocol

Abstract

BackgroundIn 2013, there was a shortage of approximately 7.2 million health workers worldwide, which is larger among family physicians than among specialists. eLearning could provide a potential solution to some of these global workforce challenges. However, there is little evidence on factors facilitating or hindering implementation, adoption, use, scalability and sustainability of eLearning. This review aims to synthesise results from qualitative and mixed methods studies to provide insight on factors influencing implementation of eLearning for family medicine specialty education and training. Additionally, this review aims to identify the actions needed to increase effectiveness of eLearning and identify the strategies required to improve eLearning implementation, adoption, use, sustainability and scalability for family medicine speciality education and training.MethodsA systematic search will be conducted across a range of databases for qualitative studies focusing on experiences, barriers, facilitators, and other factors related to the implementation, adoption, use, sustainability and scalability of eLearning for family medicine specialty education and training. Studies will be synthesised by using the framework analysis approach.DiscussionThis study will contribute to the evaluation of eLearning implementation, adoption, use, sustainability and scalability for family medicine specialty training and education and the development of eLearning guidelines for postgraduate medical education.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.asp?ID=CRD42016036449 Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13643-016-0352-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.