Changes in knowledge and perceptions following online education in traditional, Complementary, and Integrative...

An increasing number of healthcare professionals and patients worldwide are utilizing Traditional Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) along with conventional Western medicine. Consequently, the need for healthcare professionals to understand and effectively use TCIM in clinical settings is growing. However, related educational programs have remained insufficient. This study aimed to develop an online easily applicable Continuing Medical Education (CME) program focusing on TCIM for actual clinical practice and to evaluate its educational effectiveness.

A pre-education survey was conducted among healthcare professionals worldwide to assess the demand for education and the level of knowledge, based on which a TCIM online CME program was designed. A total of 238 individuals participated in the preliminary survey, and 88 individuals responded to the post-education survey after completing the program. Changes in knowledge levels were analyzed using a paired t-test, and factors affecting the completion rate were examined through logistic regression analysis.

Based on the preliminary survey's results, an educational program focusing on treatment techniques applicable in clinical practice was developed. The post-education survey results showed that overall knowledge of TCIM showed a statistically significant improvement after the education (3.92 ± 0.91, p < 0.001). In particular, significant improvements were observed in areas related to clinical techniques, such as pharmacopuncture, Ultrasound Guided pharmacopuncture, and Chuna Manual Therapy. Nearly 83% of respondents evaluated the program as having greatly contributed to their knowledge acquisition, and 86.37% reported experiencing an improvement in clinical competency. While the completion rate varied depending on some nationalities, no significant association was found with other variables.

This study demonstrated that online CME in the field of TCIM can serve as an effective educational method for knowledge delivery and clinical application. These findings can be utilized as foundational data for the future development of TCIM educational programs, including program design and management.