Successfully Managing IBD in Children: Can Medical Education Improve Knowledge and Competence of Physicians?

Abstract

Introduction: It is estimated that 25% of patients with IBD are diagnosed within the pediatric age group, and that approximately 50,000 children in the United States have IBD. IBD in children is different than in adults with respect to distribution of disease and thus requires pediatric-specific considerations to confirm diagnosis and select appropriate therapy. This study assessed whether online continuing medical education (CME) - a 15-minute video lecture - can impact knowledge and competence of gastroenterologists and primary care physicians (PCPs) who care for children with IBD. Methods: An online survey was administered to assess the educational effect of the CME program focused on management goals for IBD in children, by comparing the same participant's responses to 4 identical pre- and post-CME assessment questions. A paired 2-tailed t-test was used to assess whether the mean post-assessment score was different from the mean pre-assessment score. McNemar's chi-squared statistic was used to determine statistical significance. Effect size was calculated using Cramer's V by determining the change in proportion of participants who answered questions correctly from pre- to post- assessment. Survey data were collected from September 24 to November 24, 2015. Results: Data were collected for 64 gastroenterologists and 71 PCPs, each of whom answered all assessment questions during the study period. Gastroenterologists who participated in the CME activity demonstrated statistically significant improvements in knowledge/competence (n=64; P<.05; V=0.238, medium educational effect). While 25% answered all 4 questions correctly on preassessment, 63% answered them all correctly on post-CME assessment. PCPs who participated in the CME activity demonstrated statistically significant improvements in knowledge/competence (n=71; P<.05; V=0.245, medium educational effect). While 3% answered all 4 questions correctly on preassessment, 32% answered them all correctly on post-CME assessment. Significant improvements occurred in physicians' ability to recognize epidemiologic differences between pediatric and adult IBD, recognize appropriate approaches to vaccinations, and in knowledge of clinical trial data for pediatric IBD. Conclusion: CME in the format of a video lecture on IBD in children led to improvements in clinicallyrelevant knowledge of gastroenterologists and PCPs, and may be a suitable method for further education of clinicians in this space.