Group telementoring using project ECHO proves efficient platform for knowledge translation in occupational therapy.

Area of Science:

• Occupational Therapy
• Global Health Education
• Digital Health

Background:

• Limited access to mentorship and continuing education for occupational therapists in low- and middle-income countries.
• Need for accessible and affordable professional development in pediatric occupational therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of the Extension for Community Health Care Outcomes (eCHCO) program for improving clinical competency.
• To assess program retention, participant satisfaction, and confidence in using the online platform.

Main Methods:

• Quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design.
• Anonymous online surveys administered before and after each of the six eCHCO sessions.
• Data collected from 109 participants across 26 countries.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements (p≤0.05) in weekly learning objectives for five of six sessions.
• High participant engagement with 54% attending over 50% of Zoom sessions.
• Participants reported high confidence in accessing virtual materials and satisfaction with the eCHCO platform.

Conclusions:

• The eCHCO platform is an effective, low-cost solution for telementoring and supporting occupational therapists in underserved regions.
• eCHCO provides an accessible online learning environment for international knowledge dissemination.