| Title |
Health care professionals from developing countries report educational benefits after an online diabetes course
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
BMC Medical Education, May 2017
|
| DOI | 10.1186/s12909-017-0935-y |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Nicolai J. Wewer Albrechtsen, Kristina W. Poulsen, Lærke Ø. Svensson, Lasse Jensen, Jens J. Holst, Signe S. Torekov |
| Abstract |
Medical education is a cornerstone in the global combat against diseases such as diabetes and obesity which together affect more than 500 million humans. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are educational tools for institutions to teach and share their research worldwide. Currently, millions of people have participated in evidence-based MOOCs, however educational and professional benefit(s) for course participants of such initiatives have not been addressed sufficiently. We therefore investigated if participation in a 6 week open online course in the prevention and treatment of diabetes and obesity had any impact on the knowledge, skills, and career of health care professionals contrasting participants from developing countries versus developed countries. 52.006 participants signed up and 29.469 participants were active in one of the three sessions (2014-2015) of Diabetes - a Global Challenge. Using an online based questionnaire (nine sections) software (Survey Monkey), email invitations were send out using a Coursera based database to the 29.469 course participants. Responses were analyzed and stratified, according to the United Nations stratification method, by developing and developed countries. 1.303 (4.4%) of the 29.469 completed the questionnaire. 845 of the 1303 were defined as health care professionals, including medical doctors (34%), researchers (15%), nurses (11%) and medical students (8%). Over 80% of the health care participants report educational benefits, improved knowledge about the prevention and treatment therapies of diabetes and furthermore improved professional life and practice. Over 40% reported that their professional network expanded after course participation. Study participants who did not complete all modules of the course reported similar impact as the ones that completed the entire course(P = 0.9). Participants from developing countries gained more impact on their clinical practice (94%) compared to health care professionals from developed regions (88%) (Mean of differences = 6%, P = 0.03. Based on self-reports from course participants, MOOC based medical education seems promising with respect to providing accessible and free research-based education to health professionals in both developing and developed countries. Course participants from developing countries report more benefits from course participation than their counterparts in the developed world. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 3 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 1 | 33% |
| Spain | 1 | 33% |
| Unknown | 1 | 33% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 2 | 67% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 33% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 147 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 147 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 16 | 11% |
| Student > Bachelor | 16 | 11% |
| Student > Master | 14 | 10% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 13 | 9% |
| Other | 11 | 7% |
| Other | 26 | 18% |
| Unknown | 51 | 35% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 29 | 20% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 20 | 14% |
| Psychology | 8 | 5% |
| Social Sciences | 5 | 3% |
| Computer Science | 5 | 3% |
| Other | 23 | 16% |
| Unknown | 57 | 39% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 01 June 2017.
All research outputs
#15,557,505
of 23,881,329 outputs
Outputs from BMC Medical Education
#2,296
of 3,576 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#191,669
of 318,381 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Medical Education
#33
of 51 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,881,329 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 32nd percentile – i.e., 32% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,576 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.4. This one is in the 32nd percentile – i.e., 32% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 51 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 31st percentile – i.e., 31% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.