What’s in ‘Dr Cochrane’ for family physicians? Evaluation of an online Cochrane Learning programme with the Information Assessment Method (IAM)

Tags: Poster
Urquhart B1, Grad R2, Pluye P2, Shulha M3, Granikov V3
1Wiley, Chichester, UK, 2Department of Family Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, 3Information Technology Primary Care Research Group, McGill University

Background: ‘Dr Cochrane’ is an online Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme based upon Cochrane Reviews. The Information Assessment Method (IAM) systematically documents physicians’ reflections on the value of clinical information for practice. We adapted the IAM for incorporation into the Dr Cochrane CME programme to assess the relevance and use of clinical information from learning modules for patients, and patient health benefits of using this information, 6 months after physicians completed this learning activity.

Objectives: To determine the value of Dr Cochrane learning activities by deploying a modified IAM 6 months after completion of an online learning module.

Methods: Group 1: 50 family physicians from Canada will be recruited to participate in at least one Dr Cochrane learning module, including a mandatory IAM evaluation 6 months after completion of the learning module. Group 2: all participants registered in Canada who complete a Dr Cochrane module will be sent a non-mandatory IAM evaluation 6 months after completion of the learning module.

Results: The IAM was adapted to ensure participants reflected upon the clinical relevance, information-use and patient health benefits in the 6 months between learning activity and evaluation. We expect all 50 recruited physicians to complete at least 1 IAM evaluation. We will present descriptive statistics on the relevance, use and benefits associated with the application of clinical information from Dr Cochrane modules.

Conclusions: When establishing an online learning programme it is essential to be able to measure the clinical value of the information in routine practice. In this regard, the IAM will help to evaluate Dr Cochrane modules, compare outcomes with other online resources, and to plan future online learning developments.