MEDLINE AND COMPUTER CONFERENCING BY DENTISTS

描述：（摘自项目摘要）：及时和广泛 向执业牙科专业人员传播研究成果 对科学和教育来说是一个重大挑战 组织的 本文提出了一个为期三年的研究项目， 以计算机为媒介的通信（计算机会议）的有效性， 提供远程教育的在线信息资源（MEDLINE）， 普通牙医的临床信息。 继续教育和直接邮寄已成功地用于 提供信息和增加牙医的知识，但有效性 新的电子资源，如计算机会议和在线 文献检索未知。 这项研究的目的是确定 计算机介导的通信和在线访问MEDLINE是否可以 为牙医提供信息，改变他们的知识，态度， 和行为有关的一个重要的当代牙科问题： 牙周病 继续教育将提供为期六个月的200密歇根州 牙医通过电脑会议或邮件取决于随机 配置中 这两个群体也将免费访问MEDLINE。 的 会议组将能够执行在线搜索，而邮件 小组将能够通过电话或邮件请求搜索。 后 六个月的教育阶段，参与者可以执行或请求MEDLINE 再搜索六个月。 牙科医生使用电脑会议或邮件的感知价值 将在12个月后对信息进行评估。 知识的变化， 态度和行为将在三个内容领域进行比较：1） 牙周病的病因学，2）测量和诊断 牙周病; 3）牙周病的临床治疗。 参与者对MEDLINE的使用和感知及其检索策略 也将进行分析。 将按干预前和干预后收集数据 邮件调查，来自计算机会议的记录，来自MEDLINE 搜索成绩单和参与者的电脑。 这个项目将增加我们对牙科专业人员的了解， 信息的获取和转让及其利用 计算机信息资源。 该项目还将允许 研究人员探讨以社区为基础的环境， 评价其他信息学工具。

DESCRIPTION: (Taken from project abstract): Timely and extensive dissemination of research findings to practicing dental professionals represents a significant challenge for scientific and educational organizations. A three year research project is proposed to investigate the effectiveness of computer mediated communication (computer conferencing) and an on-line information resource (MEDLINE) to provide distance education and clinical information for general dentists. Continuing education and direct mail have been employed successfully to provide information and increase dentists' knowledge, but the effectiveness of new electronic resources such as computer conferencing and online literature searching is unknown. The goal of this research is to determine whether computer mediated communication and on-line access to MEDLINE can provide information to dentists that will change their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors concerning an important contemporary dental issue: periodontal diseases. Continuing education will be provided for six months to 200 Michigan dentists through a computer conference or the mail depending upon random allocation. Both groups will also be given free access to MEDLINE. The conference group will be able to perform on-line searches while the mail group will be able to request searches by telephone or mail. Following the six month education phase, participants can perform or request MEDLINE searches for six additional months. Dentists' use and perceived value of computer conferencing or mailed information will be assessed after 12 months. Changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviors will be compared in three content areas: 1) etiology of periodontal diseases, 2) measurement and diagnosis of periodontal diseases, and 3) clinical management of periodontal diseases. Participants' use and perceptions of MEDLINE and their searching strategies will also be analyzed. Data will be collected by pre- and post-intervention mailed surveys, from transcripts of a computer conference, from MEDLINE search transcripts, and from participants'computers. This project will increase our understanding of dental professionals' acquisition and transfer of information as well as their utilization of computer-based information resources. The project will also permit investigators to explore the feasibility of community-based settings for evaluations of other informatics tools.