Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2025
Comprehensive & Cost Effective Laboratory Monitoring of HIV/AIDS: an African Role Model
Published on: October 31, 2010
Effectiveness and uptake of WhatsApp-based HIV microlearning for healthcare workers in remote South African clinics:
Briony Sue Chisholm1, Lovemore Mapahla2, Carl Lombard3
1Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Aim/Objective:
To design and test the usability of case-based HIV microlearning lessons using WhatsApp groups. This paper reports on effectiveness and uptake.
Background:
South Africa has the largest antiretroviral treatment program globally. National guidelines are regularly updated. Ongoing training of healthcare workers is vital but complicated by infrastructural, financial and human resource shortages. Innovative solutions are needed.
Design:
A pragmatic, mixed methods, parallel group, cluster randomised trial.
Methods:
Nurses and community health workers (CHWs) at 50 clinics in the Eastern Cape were invited to participate. Online questionnaires tested knowledge and retention of knowledge; retrospective folder reviews measured changes in patient care. Patient folders were sampled purposively pre-/post-intervention for clinical points learned. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed.
Results:
Uptake and participation were good: 232 (79 %) nurses and 207 (76 %) CHWs participated. 96 % of nurses and 88 % of CHWs read the lessons within two weeks. There was a significant intervention effect on knowledge, based on the online questionnaires: nurses (0.5 units; 95 % CI 0.11-1.0; p = 0.0499) and CHWs (0.7 units; 95 % CI 0.2-1.3; p = 0.004). 1083 patient folders were reviewed to compare changes in patient care between the study arms. Adjusting for pre-care differences between the arms, the intervention increased correct patient care by 21 % ( 95 % CI 10 %-32 %; p < 0.001) in the year after the training.
Conclusions:
WhatsApp-based microlearning improves knowledge and patient care. This, with the companion paper's data showing that it is well received and accepted, makes it a valuable option for simple, accessible, scalable continuing medical education for HCWs.
Related Concept Videos
01:26Methods Of Healthcare Delivery System
Managed Care System:
The managed care system is designed to control the cost while maintaining the quality of care. The patient's care from admission to discharge is planned by the primary care provider or the case manager, also known as the gatekeeper. In a managed care system, the number of care providers is...
01:22Healthcare Associated Infections II: Preventive Measures
The best practices for preventing healthcare-associated infections include hand hygiene, patient risk...
01:30Primary Healthcare Services
In 1978, international leaders convened in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, for what would be a pivotal event in global health. The Alma-Ata Declaration was the first to call...