Piloting a web-based continuing professional development program for asthma education

Continuing professional development is an integral component of modern medical practice, yet traditional educational methods are impractical for many Primary Care Physicians. Web-based programs may fulfill the requirements of busy practitioners who have difficulty attending formal education sessions.

We piloted the use of a learning management system to deliver asthma education materials to Primary Care Physicians in both Australia and Italy in their native languages. Each group of Physicians accessed an education module which contained content pages, self-tests, a quiz and a survey. Details of how the Physicians used the system, their preferences and performance on the assessment were monitored.

The learning management system was well received by both Italian and Australian Physicians. Thirty-eight (18 Australian, 20 Italian) Physicians used the system. Participants visited an average of 8.8 pages, with a mean time per hit of 2.9 min. Formative assessment was undertaken by 63.2% and summative assessment by 68.4% of participants. There were no substantial differences in performance between Physicians from both countries. Italian physicians tended to use the system after hours whereas Australian Physicians appear to do so between patient visits.

Simple web-based systems are suitable for delivering educational materials to Primary Care Physicians in a manner likely to be used.