The effectiveness of internet-based e-learning on clinician behavior and patient outcomes: a systematic review protocol.

Abstract

Review question/objective The objective of this systematic review is to identify, appraise and synthesize the best available evidence for the effectiveness of internet-based e-learning programs on health care professional behavior and patient outcomes. Inclusion criteria Types of participants This review will consider studies whose participants were Health care professionals in any health care context. For the purpose of this review, a Health care professionals will be any individual who requires a degree qualification to practice in their respective field Types of intervention(s) This review will consider studies that evaluated an internet-based e-learning program. For the purposes of this review internet-based e-learning programs are defined as any asynchronous educational intervention that is mediated electronically via the internet. Types of outcomes This review will consider studies that include the following outcome measures: • Impact on clinician behavior measured using objectively administered evaluation criteria • Impact on patient outcomes measured using objectively administered evaluation criteria For the purposes of this review, impact on clinician behavior is defined as the degree to which the intervention influenced their ability to perform the skill for which the intervention was designed. For the purposes of this review, impact on patient outcomes is defined as the degree to which patients’ health care outcomes were affected (either positively or negatively) as a result of the intervention.