Interactive Distance Learning Program in Palliative Care

描述(由申请人提供)：背景：医学研究所国家癌症咨询委员会与国家研究理事会在其2001年的报告中呼吁改善姑息治疗方面的医生教育。临终关怀教育项目(EPEC)是一项雄心勃勃的培训师培训计划，旨在通过EPEC培训师，接触到美国所有执业医生，了解他们必须具备的能力，以便在良好的临终关怀中发挥作用。它已经成为姑息关怀教育的黄金标准，并成为一所在项目上可持续、经久不衰的虚拟大学。 随着医学教育对远程教育的日益依赖，以远程教育的形式提供EPEC教育显得尤为重要。然而，几乎不存在用于姑息治疗的远程学习。事实上，远程教育也处于初级阶段。Meta分析表明，互动性是有帮助的。然而，很少有研究是严格的，也很少有程序是根据教育原则设计的。 目的和方法：这份重新提交的提案是我们之前受到好评，现在得到进一步改进的提案，旨在将两个使用EPEC课程的远程学习项目与传统的EPEC基于会议的学习(Conference)进行比较。其中一个将作为互动远程学习课程(IDLCourse)。另一种是非交互式网络课程(W-Course)。然后，我们将招募550名以前从未参加过EPEC会议的专业人员。我们将把他们随机分配到三个分支中的一个：150个将接受大会，200个将接受IDL-Course，200个将接受W-Course。这三个部门将涵盖相同的课程内容。 评估：评估将检查每门课程在以下方面的影响：知识获取；态度发展；技能获取；行为改变；教授材料的能力；以及参与姑息关怀教育社区。评估将需要使用适当的指标，并将在计划开始和结束时进行，并在3个月后再次进行。我们假设，所有ARM都将获得类似的知识收获，但在其他结果上将显示出差异，即W课程在态度、技能、行为、教学能力和专业参与方面将获得最少、IDL课程中等和会议最多的收获。这项为期3年的研究结果将包括：1.一个新的互动远程学习姑息关怀教育计划；2.评估姑息关怀教育所需的一些指标；以及3.关于远程学习的哪些特征对教育产生最大影响的信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Background: The National Cancer Advisory Board of the Institute of Medicine with the National Research Council called for improved physician education in palliative care in its 2001 report. The Education in Palliative and End-of-life Care (EPEC) Project is an ambitious train-the-trainer program that aims to reach, through its EPEC Trainers, all practicing physicians in the USA with education about the competencies they must possess to play their role in good end-of-life care. It has become a gold standard in palliative care education, and a programmatically sustainable, enduring virtual college. As medical education relies increasingly on distance learning, it is important to provide the EPEC education in a distance learning form. However, little distance learning exists for palliative care. Indeed, distance learning is also in its infancy. A meta-analysis indicates that interactivity is helpful. However, few studies are rigorous, and few programs are designed according to principles of education. Aims and Methods: This resubmission of our previously well-reviewed, and now further improved proposal aims to compare two distance learning programs that use the EPEC curriculum with the traditional EPEC conference-based learning (Conference). One will be built as an interactive distance learning course (IDLCourse). The other is a non-interactive web program (W-Course). We will then recruit a cohort of 550 professionals who have not previously attended an EPEC Conference. We will randomize them to one of three arms: 150 will receive the Conference, 200 to IDL-Course and 200 the W-Course. All three arms will cover the same curricular content. Evaluation: Evaluation will examine the impact of each course on: knowledge acquisition; attitude development; skills acquisition; behavior change; ability to teach the material; and participation in a palliative care education community. Evaluation will entail use of appropriate metrics and will occur at the start and end of the program and again after 3 months. We hypothesize that all arms will achieve similar knowledge gains but will show differences in other outcomes, namely that W-Course will achieve lest, IDL-Course moderate and Conference most gains in attitudes, skills, behaviors, teaching capacity and professional participation. Outcomes of this 3 year study will include: 1. A new, interactive distance learning palliative care education program; 2. Some needed metrics for evaluating palliative care education; and 3. Information on which features of distance learning result in the greatest educational impact.