Teaching Basic Knowledge on Substance Use Disorders: The Impact of e-Learning on Health Professionals

Recent evolution toward a medical perspective on patients with substance use disorders (SUDs) has led to a lack of medical training in substance abuse. To increase this knowledge, a distance learning course ("e-learning") was implemented to teach the general concepts of SUDs to medical residents and health professionals before delivering on-campus courses. The purpose was to evaluate the impact on participants' basic knowledge.

The e-learning on the general concepts of SUDs was based on short voiced presentations and additional educational material. It was proposed to 2 populations: medical residents in general practice and health professionals in continuing education. All of the participants answered questionnaires before and after the distance learning course to evaluate their basic knowledge of SUDs. These questionnaires were analyzed along with a satisfaction questionnaire to assess both the acquired knowledge about SUDs and the satisfaction level.

Participants moved toward higher test scores independently of their initial background and for all the educational objectives targeted by the teachers. The mean progression on a 20-point scale between the pretest and posttest questionnaires was 5.48 (2.63) for health professionals and 5.90 (2.20) for residents in general practice. Satisfaction was rated 4 or 5 on a 5-point Likert scale by at least 84.2% of participants.

This study is the first evaluation of an online pedagogical tool on SUDs. The positive feedback from participants encourages pursuing development of this e-learning. Used before on-campus courses, it provides an attractive educational option to overcome the usual limitations of online classes.