Needs assessment of a pythiosis continuing professional development program

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Infectious Diseases
• Public Health

Background:

• Pythiosis is a rare, highly fatal disease, predominantly reported in Thailand and India.
• Early diagnosis and surgical intervention are crucial for improving patient outcomes.
• Continuing professional development (CPD) is vital for timely pythiosis recognition, yet a needs assessment for a CPD program is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a needs assessment for developing a pythiosis CPD program.

Main Methods:

• A survey study was administered to 267 residents at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.
• The survey included knowledge assessment, demographics, and attitudes, distributed electronically and on paper.
• Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Main Results:

• The mean knowledge assessment score was 41.67%, with the lowest scores in laboratory investigation (15.00%), epidemiology (29.17%), and symptomatology (30.83%).
• Participants preferred an online CPD program with synchronous and asynchronous sessions, 60-90 minutes in length.
• High-scoring domains included risk factors (67.22%), microbiologic characteristics (50.83%), and radiographic interpretation (50.56%).

Conclusions:

• The pythiosis CPD program must prioritize education on symptomatology, laboratory investigation, and epidemiology for early detection.
• Implementing a virtual blended format for the CPD program is recommended.
• Addressing these educational needs is critical to reduce mortality from pythiosis.