The Influence Of Online Continuing Medical Education On Disparities In Diagnosis And Treatment Of Heart Failure In Women

Abstract

<h3>Introduction</h3> Despite advances in heart failure (HF) treatment within the last decade, the disease remains associated with high rates of morbidity, hospitalizations, and mortality, particularly in women. Although women with HF live longer than men, they experience worse symptom burden, are more frequently misdiagnosed, and are also underrepresented in clinical trials for HF treatments. Women with HF also receive suboptimal treatment compared with men, illustrating a remediable disparity in care. <h3>Hypothesis</h3> Online continuing medical education (CME) will reduce knowledge and competency gaps on the recognition and assessment of HF in women, ability to use newer agents for HF and understanding of recent clinical trial efficacy data. <h3>Methods</h3> To address identified gaps, a 2 × 60 min, interactive, virtual CME program was launched live, online in October 2020 to remain on-demand for one year in partnership with the American Society for Preventative Cardiology. Knowledge and competence questions were administered pre-, immediate post-, and 2 mos. post-activity. Responses from learner polling, and 2 mos. follow-up surveys were also analyzed for engagement, lessons learned, and continuing gaps. McNemar tests compared matched pair responses (pre/post & pre/2mos) with Cohen's d for effect size. <h3>Results</h3> To date, 1,276 learners engaged with the education, including 66% physicians and advanced practitioner providers. All 7 of the pre/post knowledge and case-based competence questions showed significantly significant improvements pre to post education and 5 maintained above-baseline gains in follow-up scores at 2 mos. post-education on: female risk factors for HF, therapies for HF in women, treatment applications, and clinical trial efficacy data. At 2 mos. post, 65% reported a positive impact on patient experience/outcomes and 68% of learners reported a positive impact on clinical practice, with 83 qualitative examples of change shared describing improved assessment of women with HF symptoms, ability to use newer agents for HF management, and patient outcomes. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Data from the survey-based evaluation of CME education support the positive influence of live-online CME in improving clinician ability to recognize and assess HF symptoms in women, treat HF with newer agents, and apply clinical trial efficacy data regarding emerging therapies into practice. Ongoing education is advised to help clinicians better understand the mechanism of action of newer therapies, enhance management of comorbidities such as obesity and diabetes, and optimize patient adherence.