Online educational tools to improve the knowledge of primary care professionals in infectious diseases

BACKGROUND Infectious diseases kill more than 10 million people worldwide every year. It is therefore vital that doctors receive a good education in this field. Online learning is one way in which doctors can learn new knowledge and skills. We conducted this study to determine whether the infectious diseases interactive online learning packages enabled primary care professionals to increase their knowledge and skills in the area of infectious diseases. DESCRIPTION We built a series of interactive case histories on the following topics: tuberculosis; hepatitis B; hepatitis C; influenza; meningitis; mumps; helicobacter pylori; chlamydia; and genital herpes. The modules involved a pre-test, a number of interactive cases and/or a summary of up-to-date knowledge in that area and a post-test. RESULTS The learning modules were completed by 3,956 users. Wilcoxon's test showed that learners increased their knowledge to a statistically significant degree (p < 0.001) and qualitative data showed that users found the tool useful. DISCUSSION The results appear to demonstrate that online modules are effective in helping health professionals learn more about infectious diseases.