Measuring the Impact of Asthma Revolution to Deliver Digital Medical Education to Primary Care Physicians

Clinical Research Results Abstract Research Idea Abstract Research question: How to measure the outcome of medical education delivery through Asthma Revolution addressing knowledge gaps in primary care to improve asthma outcomes?Background: Asthma is often encountered and treated in primary care, and most patients are expected to achieve good symptom control.1 Unfortunately, their asthma often remains poorly controlled.2 Healthcare practitioner education is fundamental, and the need for guideline-focused training in primary care is well established. However, most guidelines are complex, lengthy and generally biased towards secondary care.3 A solution for efficient and real-time education is critical. Asthma Revolution is a digital medical education program delivered through social media with bite-sized content focused on the latest updates in asthma guidelines and evidence. The program has been piloted in 5 countries: Mexico, Argentina, Malaysia, France and Brazil, garnering a content reach to over 47,000 physicians with 8000 followers.A lack of an established method to measure the impact of digital education through social media, combined with logistical difficulties in collecting specific data, presents research challenges.4 Given the potential for social media use in medical education, empirical evaluative studies are required to determine its educational value.Proposed methodology: Recruit 1000 physicians across 5 piloted countries. Physicians that join the Asthma Revolution program will be invited to complete a baseline survey. Twelve weeks into the program, another survey will be conducted and a follow-up survey four weeks later. The survey questionnaire will include the feedback received at the 2022 IPCRG conference.Study DesignAsthma Revolution Survey after 12 weeksFollow up survey after 4 weeksBaseline survey (Joining Asthma Revolution) Items for discussion: Is this study design appropriate to:Evaluate the impact of Asthma Revolution using social media as a digital medical education program. Inform the type of content that supports the greatest change in behaviour: interactive, simulation-based or emotional connectionWhat would be the parameters to measure the impact of Asthma Revolution in clinical practice? Service Development & Evaluation Abstract Declaration of Interest References and Clinical Trial Registry Information Wechsler M.E. Managing asthma in primary care: putting new guideline recommendations into context. Mayo Clin Proc 2009;84(8):707−717. doi:10.1016/S0025-6196(11)60521-1 Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). Global strategy for asthma management and prevention, 2021 [Internet]. https://ginasthma.org/gina-reports/Fletcher, M.J. et al. Improving primary care management of asthma: do we know what really works? NPJ Prim Care Respir Med 2020;30(1):29. doi: 10.1038/s41533-020-0184-0D'souza, F. et al. Social media: medical education’s double-edged sword. Future Healthc J 2021;8(2):e307−e310. doi:10.7861/fhj.2020-0164