The First Hybrid International Educational Comprehensive Cleft Care Workshop

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Global Health
• Surgical Simulation

Background:

• Comprehensive cleft care requires multidisciplinary collaboration.
• Global disparities exist in cleft care delivery, particularly in low to middle-income countries.
• Simulation-based training offers a promising avenue for enhancing cleft care education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the inaugural hybrid global simulation-based comprehensive cleft care workshop.
• To evaluate the workshop's impact on participant knowledge and practice.
• To compare participant experiences between in-person and virtual attendance.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was administered to workshop participants.
• Data collected included demographics, perceived barriers, interventions, satisfaction, and perceived impact on practice.
• Analysis stratified outcomes based on in-person versus virtual attendance.

Main Results:

• 489 participants from 5 continents attended the three-day hybrid workshop.
• Financial factors were the most significant barrier (30.3%), while improved training was the key intervention (39.8%).
• Both in-person and virtual attendees reported high satisfaction and positive practice impact, with in-person attendees showing significantly higher scores (P=.04 for satisfaction, P=.01 for impact).

Conclusions:

• Hybrid simulation-based workshops for comprehensive cleft care are well-received and beneficial.
• In-person attendance correlates with superior satisfaction and perceived practice impact.
• Future initiatives should focus on enhancing virtual attendance to match in-person experiences, addressing accessibility barriers.