Online Webinar Research Articles

Impact of a Training Programme on Police Attitudes Towards Victims of Rape: a Randomised Controlled Trial

Research QuestionDoes an in-service training programme designed to address the attitudes of student officers, uniformed response officers and specialist rape crime investigators towards victims of rape change their perspective on adult victims, both male and female, who report rape offences?Data Police officers from four separate policing roles completed questionnaires designed to measure their attitudes towards victims of rape. The questions were already validated and used four specific subscales: ‘Asked for it’, ‘Didn’t mean to’, ‘It wasn’t really rape’ and ‘S/he lied’. Two questionnaires, one focused on male victims and one on females, were administered at different points in time.MethodsThis randomised controlled trial used a block design, randomly assigning eligible police officers to treatment and control conditions within each of four groups. Participants were grouped as rape detectives (N = 40), uniformed response officers in urban areas (N = 50); uniformed response officers in rural areas (N = 50) and student officers (N = 53). Officers in the treatment condition undertook a bespoke training programme, based on an online College of Policing e-learning programme, enhanced with audio and video content, discussion groups and short online webinar sessions delivered by a psychologist specialising in sexual offending. Both groups were surveyed before and after the treatment group was trained.FindingsThe training programme resulted in positive attitude changes towards male and female rape victims when responses are combined across all four police groups (but not within all groups separately) compared with the attitudes of those who did not undertake the training. Effects were found for both levels of rape myth acceptance and assessment of victim credibility. The effect was largest for the subscales ‘S/he lied’ and ‘it wasn’t really rape’. Training had more effect on attitudes towards female victims than towards males and more effect on uniformed response officers than on other categories of officers.ConclusionThe use of this mixed online webinar and in-person discussion group training delivery was effective in changing attitudes towards rape victims on issues relating to the treatment of people who report being raped.

ВІД РЕДАКТОРА

In the course of four short months, the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has entered the annals of human history as a pandemic. After its initial identification in the Wuhan region of China in December 2019, it rapidly spread across the globe and by March 2020 had been detected in Ukraine and 110 other countries. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to have reached pandemic levels which constituted an emergency requiring implementation of quarantine measures. The continuing community spread of this originally zoonotic infection is now the most formidable and urgent challenge to the physical, psychological and economic health of humanity. The world did not anticipate the outbreak and rapid spread of COVID-19. By April, 12, 2020 some 1,800,000 persons have been infected and 110,000 have died. Physicians and scientists around the globe are joining forces in the battle against a formidable foe that has already inflicted human, social, and economic losses not seen since World War II. Given the absence of any effective evidence-based treatments, there is a consensus that prevention is of primary importance as we strive to develop an understanding of the short- and long-term consequences of the disease. There has also been landmark recognition that inter-disciplinary scientific research into the pathogenesis and resulting pathophysiology of COVID-19 is critical to the development of improved diagnostic approaches and potentially preventive measures such as immunization, that could help us vanquish the disease. Today, synergistic efforts by the WHO, politicians, leaders, and experts from all spheres of the society life are directed at one common goal – halting the spread of COVID-19 and finding effective measures to counteract the effects of the responsible virus, SARS-CoV-2. The oldest Ukrainian medical journal Proceedings of the Shevchenko Scientific Society: Medical Sciences (Праці Наукового Товариства імені Шевченка. Медичні науки) cannot remain indifferent to the COVID-19 pandemic. An invitation to join a discussion of critically relevant issues in an online webinar “COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal Editorial Policies in the Modern Scientific Space and the Role of Editor Associations” on World Health Day 2020, to be moderated by Olena Zimba, MD, PhD via ZOOM (due to quarantine measures) was answered by almost 100 participants, including members of the editorial board and representatives of numerous Ukrainian institutions. Today’s issue of the Proceedings of the Shevchenko Scientific Society: Medical Sciences provides a report of that conference, with presentations and articles by leading experts in epidemiology, immunology, and infectious diseases from Danylo Halytsky National Medical University in L’viv. These include professors Natalia Vynohrad, Valentyna Chopyak, Oleksandr Zinchuk. Olena Zimba discussed the editorial challenges presented by the current pandemic and underscored the importance of integration of and cooperation between various media platforms and organizations in the modern scientific space. A key weapon in the battle with COVID-19 is the rapid dissemination of knowledge about the signs, symptoms and course of the disease in high risk patients who suddenly find themselves in the unenviable position of having to choose “between Scylla and Charybdis” as described in ancient Greek mythology. This was the highly apposite term that one of our authors and a leader in the field of oncology and cancer chemotherapy Yarolsav Shparyk, adopted in his article on the critical danger posed by the comorbidity of cancer and COVID-19. Our other participant, the scientific team from the microbiology laboratory of Olena Korniyenko, professor at the Danylo Halytsky National Medical University in Lviv, addressed issues in the development of safety measures that would balance the risks to and preserve the dignity of the medical community while they strive to minimize the human toll of the virus. We encourage you to submit additional materials germane to urgent clinical and public health needs posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A postgraduate qualification in tuberculosis—Message in a bottle

The TBCert is a distance-learning course, launched in 2019 and hosted by QMUL. The course is open to doctors, nurses, and public health workers who wish to subspecialize in TB. The course was established to elevate TB medicine to a subspecialty. We feel it is imperative to educate health practitioners from different sectors to deliver the most advanced level of care and control activities, standardisze training, reduce clinical variability, and instil best practice. The courses main objectives are to provide a relevant syllabus delivered through high quality teaching from world-class experts using an innovative interactive online platform. The curriculum is based on current internationally accepted (including WHO) guidelines and recommendations. Students are taught with pre-recorded lectures and regular live online webinar discussions delivered by experts in the field. Online discussion groups, one to one teaching-to-one teaching, and mentorship are organiszed to promote a shared as well as a tailored experience that helps students attain the learning outcomes and achieve their expectations.

Online webinar training to analyse complex atrial fibrillation maps: A randomized trial

BackgroundSpecific tools have been recently developed to map atrial fibrillation (AF) and help guide ablation. However, when used in clinical practice, panoramic AF maps generated from multipolar intracardiac electrograms have yielded conflicting results between centers, likely due to their complexity and steep learning curve, thus limiting the proper assessment of its clinical impact.ObjectivesThe main purpose of this trial was to assess the impact of online training on the identification of AF driver sites where ablation terminated persistent AF, through a standardized training program. Extending this concept to mobile health was defined as a secondary objective.MethodsAn online database of panoramic AF movies was generated from a multicenter registry of patients in whom targeted ablation terminated non-paroxysmal AF, using a freely available method (Kuklik et al–method A) and a commercial one (RhythmView–method B). Cardiology Fellows naive to AF mapping were enrolled and randomized to training vs no training (control). All participants evaluated an initial set of movies to identify sites of AF termination. Participants randomized to training evaluated a second set of movies in which they received feedback on their answers. Both groups re-evaluated the initial set to assess the impact of training. This concept was then migrated to a smartphone application (App).Results12 individuals (median age of 30 years (IQR 28–32), 6 females) read 480 AF maps. Baseline identification of AF termination sites by ablation was poor (40%±12% vs 42%±11%, P = 0.78), but similar for both mapping methods (P = 0.68). Training improved accuracy for both methods A (P = 0.001) and B (p = 0.012); whereas controls showed no change in accuracy (P = NS). The Smartphone App accessed AF maps from multiple systems on the cloud to recreate this training environment.ConclusionDigital online training improved interpretation of panoramic AF maps in previously inexperienced clinicians. Combining online clinical data, smartphone apps and other digital resources provides a powerful, scalable approach for training in novel techniques in electrophysiology.

Current Knowledge and Adoption of Mobile Health Apps Among Australian General Practitioners: Survey Study.

BackgroundMobile health (mHealth) apps can be prescribed as an effective self-management tool for patients. However, it is challenging for doctors to navigate 350,000 mHealth apps to find the right ones to recommend. Although medical professionals from many countries are using mHealth apps to varying degrees, current mHealth app use by Australian general practitioners (GPs) and the barriers and facilitators they encounter when integrating mHealth apps in their clinical practice have not been reported comprehensively.ObjectiveThe objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate current knowledge and use of mHealth apps by GPs in Australia, (2) determine the barriers and facilitators to their use of mHealth apps in consultations, and (3) explore potential solutions to the barriers.MethodsWe helped the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) to expand the mHealth section of their annual technology survey for 2017 based on the findings of our semistructured interviews with GPs to further explore barriers to using mHealth apps in clinical practice. The survey was distributed to the RACGP members nationwide between October 26 and December 3, 2017 using Qualtrics Web-based survey tool.ResultsA total of 1014 RACGP members responded (response rate 4.6% [1014/21,884], completion rate 61.2% [621/1014]). The median years practiced was 20.7 years. Two-thirds of the GPs used apps professionally in the forms of medical calculators and point-of-care references. A little over half of the GPs recommended apps for patients either daily (12.9%, 80/621), weekly (25.9%, 161/621), or monthly (13.4%, 83/621). Mindfulness and mental health apps were recommended most often (32.5%, 337/1036), followed by diet and nutrition (13.9%, 144/1036), exercise and fitness (12.7%, 132/1036), and women’s health (10%, 104/1036) related apps. Knowledge and usage of evidence-based apps from the Handbook of Non-Drug Interventions were low. The prevailing barriers to app prescription were the lack of knowledge of effective apps (59.9%, 372/621) and the lack of trustworthy source to access them (15.5%, 96/621). GPs expressed their need for a list of safe and effective apps from a trustworthy source, such as the RACGP, to overcome these barriers. They reported a preference for online video training material or webinar to learn more about mHealth apps.ConclusionsMost GPs are using apps professionally but recommending apps to patients sparingly. The main barriers to app prescription were the lack of knowledge of effective apps and the lack of trustworthy source to access them. A curated compilation of effective mHealth apps or an app library specifically aimed at GPs and health professionals would help solve both barriers.

Assessment of community pharmacists’ confidence, foundational knowledge, and coordination of care activities in patients with cancer as a chronic condition

ObjectivesTo develop and deliver a series of structured educational programs to community pharmacists to build on current foundational knowledge of cancer and cancer therapy. The specific objectives were to: 1) develop and provide an educational program focused on oncology pharmacy practice in the community; and 2) measure the program impact on participants’ confidence, foundational knowledge, and coordination of cancer care activities. Practice innovationA structured, in-person, 6-hour educational program tailored for community pharmacists was developed and delivered along with two 20-minute online webinar sessions. The topics identified for the webinars were based on solicited feedback from participants attending the live educational program. EvaluationA pre- and post-survey was used to evaluate the participant’s assessment of the live educational program, and a retrospective survey was used to evaluate the education sessions. ResultsTwenty-one pharmacists attended the in-person session. Participants indicated that they were more confident and able to coordinate care after the educational intervention. There was a nonsignificant improvement in foundational knowledge. ConclusionThe educational sessions provided current relevant information for community pharmacists to build on knowledge of oncology pharmacy practice and resources. This increased the pharmacists’ confidence to address needs and facilitate coordination of care for individuals with cancer. Delivery of education tailored to community pharmacy is important as the advancing cancer care model continues to adapt with new medications and innovations.

Feasibility study of the SWITCH implementation process for enhancing school wellness

BackgroundThere is a need to identify strategies that enhance the implementation of evidence-based school wellness intervention programs in real-world settings. The present study evaluates the feasibility of empowering school wellness leaders to deliver an evidence-based, childhood obesity-prevention program called Switch ™. We specifically evaluated the feasibility of a new implementation framework, based on the robust Healthy Youth Places framework, to increase capacity of school leaders to lead school wellness programming.MethodsThe SWITCH (School Wellness Integration Targeting Child Health) implementation process was evaluated in a convenience sample of eight Iowa elementary schools. Teams of three leaders from each school attended an in-person school wellness conference followed by five online webinar sessions delivered by two SWITCH team members. The capacity-building and quality improvement process was designed to empower schools to lead wellness change using methods and concepts from the original 16-week Switch ™ program. School wellness leaders completed checklists on two occasions to assess overall school-level implementation as well as setting-level changes in physical education, classrooms, and the lunchroom. Student acceptability of SWITCH was evaluated by the degree of behavior tracking using an online SWITCH Tracker system that promoted self-monitoring. School acceptability and practicality were assessed through an exit survey completed by school leaders.ResultsAll school staff reported satisfaction with the SWITCH implementation process. Reports of school- and setting-level implementation were relatively high (2.0 to 2.8 on a 3-point scale) but student engagement, based on use of the online tracking system, varied greatly over time and across schools. Three high implementation schools had average tracking rates exceeding 70% (range: 72–90%) while three low implementation schools had rates lower than 30% (range = 0–23%).ConclusionsThis feasibility study supports the utility of the new implementation framework for promoting school and student engagement with SWITCH. Further testing regarding effectiveness and scale-up of this evidence-based school wellness intervention program is warranted.

NP20 - Feasibility of the SWITCH™ Implementation Framework for Enhancing School Wellness

Objective: There is a need to identify strategies that enhance the implementation of evidence-based school wellness interventions in real-world settings. The present study evaluates the feasibility of empowering school wellness leaders to deliver an evidence-based, childhood obesity-prevention initiative called SWITCH™ (School Wellness Integration Targeting Child Health). We specifically evaluated the utility of a new implementation process, based on the robust Healthy Youth Places (HYP) framework, to increase capacity of school leaders to lead SWITCH™ school wellness programming. Description: The implementation process was piloted in a convenience sample of eight Iowa elementary schools. Teams of three leaders from each school attended an in-person school wellness conference, followed by five online webinar sessions delivered by two trained facilitators. The capacity building and quality improvement process was designed to empower schools to lead school wellness change using methods and concepts from the original 12-week SWITCH™ program. School coordinators completed checklists on two occasions to assess overall school-level implementation as well as setting-level changes in physical education, classrooms, and lunchroom. Student acceptability of SWITCH™ was evaluated by the degree of behavior tracking within the online SWITCH™ “Tracker” system that promoted self-monitoring. Evaluation: All school staff reported satisfaction with the SWITCH™ implementation process. Reports of school- and setting-level implementation were relatively high (2.0 to 2.8 on a 3.0-point scale) but student engagement (based on use of the online tracking system) varied greatly over time and across schools. Three high-implementation schools had average tracking rates exceeding 70% (range: 72–90%) while three low-implementation schools had rates lower than 30% (range: 0–23%). Conclusions and Implications: This feasibility study supports the utility of the new implementation framework for promoting school and student engagement with SWITCH™. Further testing regarding effectiveness and scale-up of this evidence-based school wellness intervention is warranted. Funding: 2015-68001-23242. The following is the supplementary data to this article: Download .pdf (.82 MB) Help with pdf files Poster

Doing Being the Moderator: Use of “Respondent Selection” During Webinar Q&As

During an online webinar, a question and answer (QA on the other hand, the moderator is also responsible for ensuring that the interaction runs smoothly and efficiently, and that all questions are addressed in a timely manner.

P027: A descriptive needs-based assessment of paramedic continuing education

Introduction: Objective: To identify self-perceived knowledge deficits of paramedics, barriers to training and desired methods of self-directed continuing education. Methods: A written 58 question survey was delivered to all 1262 paramedics under the jurisdiction of a single base-hospital in Ontario, Canada. Respondents were asked to select deficit, no deficit or not applicable from a 37-point, anatomic systems-based list. They were then asked to identify from a 15-point list which educational modalities they would choose to address any knowledge deficits. Finally, they were asked which factors they took into consideration when choosing their self-directed continuing education. Results: Seven hundred forty-six of 1262 paramedics (59.11%) completed the surveys. Of these respondents, 82 (10.99%) were advanced care paramedics, while 664 (89.01%) were primary care paramedics. Of the 645 who responded with their primary geographical setting: 136 (21.09%) listed a primary urban practice, 126 (19.53%) listed a primary rural practice and 287 (44.50%) reported a split urban and rural practice. The most common perceived deficits (respondent number, percentage); were electrolyte disturbance (418, 56.03%), neonatal resuscitation (386, 51.74%), pediatric respiratory disorder (381, 51.07%), arrhythmia (377, 50.53%), and pediatric cardiac arrest (317, 42.49%). The top 5 educational opportunities they were most likely to choose included online module (464, 62.20%), in-class lecture (423, 56.70%), web-based review (403, 54.02%), webinar (301, 40.35%) and peer consult (237, 31.77%). The top 3 barriers to choosing continuing education were work scheduling (479, 64.21%), location/ease of attending (382, 51.21%), and cost (305, 40.88%). Conclusion: Paramedics in this base hospital system identified pediatric critical care situations, electrolyte abnormalities and cardiac arrhythmia as self-perceived deficits. The most commonly selected educational opportunities included online learning, in-person training and peer consult. These preferred modalities are consistent with the identified barriers of work scheduling, ease of attending and cost. Targeted educational needs based assessments can help ensure that appropriate topics are delivered in a fashion that help overcome identified barriers to self-directed learning.

Evaluating Accessible Sleep Health Information in Rural and Urban Contexts: Delivery Face-to-Face or Online?

Objective:New parents need education about infant sleep but is not universally available especially not in regional and rural areas. We delivered sleep education both face-to-face and online to test sleep knowledge acquisition for parents wherever they reside. Best practice delivery of accessible sleep health information for new families needs to be investigated more carefully in order for specialist services to be universally available.Methods:Pre- and post-information session questionnaires (n = 32) assessed levels of knowledge acquisition and comparisons tested differences between face-to-face seminars compared with an online webinar.Results:Sleep knowledge across participants was low (69% scoring < 50%). Sleep knowledge significantly increased for both the webinar delivery group (P = .002) and face-to-face delivery group (P = .001). No significant differences in knowledge acquisition were found between face-to-face vs online delivery (P = .170), suggesting both modes of delivery were sufficient to improve parental sleep knowledge.Conclusions:Parental sleep knowledge, while low, increased with education. Online delivery was similar to face-to-face delivery suggesting ease of access for rural and remote communities needing specialist sleep information.Implications for public health:Information delivered online is effective and offers a health delivery solution to regional and remote parents unable to access sleep services and rendering sleep service accessibility more equitable.

Early career professionals: the mission of a task force

Early career researchers and clinicians face unique challenges in comparison with more senior colleagues, for instance connecting with expert leaders outside of their own institution to enhance their expertise. As the largest international thrombosis and hemostasis professional society, the ISTH can play a central role in supporting the development of early career professionals. The ISTH Early Career Task Force was formed to improve support for, and encourage collaboration between early career thrombosis and hemostasis researchers and clinicians. These activities include (1) maintaining an online forum for early career ISTH members to connect, promote clinical, research, funding and educational activities, and to generate a sense of community; (2) broaden ISTH's reach with early career professionals in the developing world through promotion of the Reach-the-World fellowships and translating ISTH websites into six languages; (3) encourage early career engagement with ISTH activities, such as guidelines and guidance document processing and online webinar series; and (4) establishing this early career forum series in this journal. The JTH Forum series will highlight the early career perspective on a wide range of issues relevant to this group, and all ISTH early career members are encouraged to contribute.

On course: cattle nutrition

‘A veterinary view on cattle nutrition’ is an online webinar series that aims to provide vets with the expertise to devise holistic herd health plans to achieve optimum dairy herd management. Lizzie Erian reviews the course.

Tradition, tradition

Tradition, tradition

Promoting and Measuring Family Caregiver Self-Efficacy in Caregiver-Physician Interactions

This article describes the development of a 5-item scale that assesses family caregivers' self-efficacy in communicating with physicians about ill family members (Perceived Efficacy in Caregiver-Physician Interactions–PECPI) in the context of an evaluation study of an online training in health care communication skills for caregivers. A national sample of 197 self-identified family caregivers participated in an online webinar and completed a brief evaluation instrument before and immediately after the training. Results indicated that the webinar was effective in increasing perceived self-efficacy and self-reported knowledge about and level of preparation for medical visits. Principal component analysis indicates that the PECPI is unidimensional with a Cronbach's alpha of .91.