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WhatsApp an informal learning and communication tool: Perception of medical officers working in low resource setting:
Ambareen Khan1, Ambreen Usmani2, Tanwir Khaliq3
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aga Khan University, Karachi.
Objective:
To assess if WhatsApp communication improves clinical knowledge and to explore the perception of its use among medical officers at a secondary care facility.
Methods:
The mixed method study was conducted at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Aga Khan Hospital for Women and Children, Kharadar, Karachi, from May to July,2018, and comprised medical officers working at the secondary care facility. All the officers were added to a WhatsApp group with a consultant. Information regarding patient condition and management were exchanged in the form of messages, images related to patient care along with consultant feedback. A pre-test to assess prior knowledge was done followed by a post-test after three months of WhatsApp communication to see improvement in knowledge. To inquire about participant's WhatsApp experience and perception, a focus group discussion was conducted. SPSS 19 was used for data analysis.
Results:
There were 10 medical officers in the study. A total of 520 communications were recorded. Of them 352(67.6%) were text messages, 117(22.5%) were images followed by 15(2.88%) web links and 36(6.9%) social messages. The pre-test mean score was 29.8±2.65 while the post-test score was 41.3±2.83 with a mean improvement in knowledge of 11.50±2.46 (p<0.0001). The focus group discussion indicated that the participants felt it was a valuable tool for prompt communication and effective patient care, and enhanced their clinical knowledge.
Conclusions:
WhatsApp was perceived as an effective tool for good communication as well as for improving clinical knowledge among medical officers working in low-resource setting.
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