Abstract
Objective
Content and training about pediatric environmental health are lacking in healthcare professionals’ education. In an initiative to improve pediatric environmental health education, the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) program offers free, interactive, web-based (“eLearning”) modules on environmental health topics. The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of PEHSU eLearning modules in increasing knowledge about pediatric and reproductive environmental health.
Methods
This is a retrospective analysis of 994 users who had completed at least one of the 12 PEHSU eLearning modules and its associated pre-test and post-test scores between March 2016 and November 2018. Users who completed modules between March 2016 and April 2018 received a 6-month follow-up survey to assess the impact of the knowledge gained on their clinical practice.
Results
A wide range of clinical professionals and nonclinical professionals utilized and completed the PEHSU eLearning modules. For all users, post-test scores were significantly higher than pre-test scores, with an increase of 30.55% ± 22.37 (paired t-test, p < 0.0001), after completion of eLearning modules.
Conclusion
PEHSU eLearning modules are effective at increasing environmental health knowledge of clinical and nonclinical professionals. Further studies are needed to determine long-term knowledge retention and clinical impact.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Gehle KS, Crawford JL, Hatcher MT. Integrating environmental health into medical education. Am J Prev Med [Internet]. 2011. 1 [cited 2018 Nov 2];41(4):S296–301. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749379711003746.
Pelletier SG. Experts see growing importance of adding environmental health content to medical school curricula [internet]. AAMC News. 2016. [cited 2018 Nov 2] Available from: https://news.aamc.org/medical-education/article/experts-importance-environmental-health-content/.
Trasande L, Newman N, Long L, Howe G, Kerwin BJ, Martin RJ, et al. Translating knowledge about environmental health to practitioners: are we doing enough? Mt Sinai J Med A J Transl Pers Med [Internet]. 2010. 1 [cited 2019 Sep 22];77(1):114–23. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1002/msj.20158.
Trasande L, Ziebold C, Schiff JS, Wallinga D, McGovern P, Oberg CN. The role of the environment in pediatric practice in Minnesota: attitudes, beliefs, and practices. Minn Med [Internet]. 2008 [cited 2018 Nov 2];91(9):36–9. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18990916.
Trasande L, Boscarino J, Graber N, Falk R, Schechter C, Galvez M, et al. The environment in pediatric practice: a study of New York pediatricians’ attitudes, beliefs, and practices towards children’s environmental Health. J Urban Heal [Internet]. 2006. 14 [cited 2018 Nov 2];83(4):760–72. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-006-9071-4
Woolf AD, Sibrizzi C, Kirkland K. Pediatric environmental health specialty units: an analysis of operations. Acad Pediatr [Internet].2016. 1 [cited 2018 Nov 2];16(1):25–33. Available from: https://www-sciencedirect-com.online.uchc.edu/science/article/pii/S1876285915001746.
Bryan RL, Kreuter MW, Brownson RC. Integrating adult learning principles into training for public health practice. Health Promot Pract [Internet]. 2009. 2 [cited 2019 Feb 21];10(4):557–63. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839907308117.
Hadley J, Kulier R, Zamora J, Coppus SFPJ, Weinbrenner S, Meyerrose B, et al. Effectiveness of an e-learning course in evidence-based medicine for foundation (internship) training. J R Soc Med [Internet]. 2010. [cited 2018 Nov 3];103(7):288–94. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20522698.
Hugenholtz NIR, de Croon EM, Smits PB, van Dijk FJH, Nieuwenhuijsen K. Effectiveness of e-learning in continuing medical education for occupational physicians. Occup Med (Lond) [Internet]. 2008. [cited 2018 Nov 3];58(5):370–2. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18495676
Jayakumar N, Brunckhorst O, Dasgupta P, Khan MS, Ahmed K. e-learning in surgical education: a systematic review. J Surg Educ [Internet]. 2015. [cited 2018 Nov 5];72(6):1145–57. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26111822
Cullinan S, O’Mahony D, Byrne S. Use of an e-learning educational module to better equip doctors to prescribe for older patients: a randomised controlled trial. Drugs Aging [Internet]. 2017. [cited 2018 Nov 5];34(5):367–74. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28258537
O’Leary FM. Paediatric resuscitation training: is e-learning the answer? A before and after pilot study. J Paediatr Child Health [Internet]. 2012. [cited 2018 Nov 5];48(6):529–33. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22107149
Shah NH, Bhansali P, Barber A, Toner K, Kahn M, MacLean M, et al.. Children with medical complexity: a web-based multimedia curriculum assessing pediatric residents across North America. Acad Pediatr [Internet]. 2018. [cited 2018 Nov 5];18(1):79–85. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28843486.
Taveira-Gomes T, Ferreira P, Taveira-Gomes I, Severo M, Ferreira MA. What are we looking for in computer-based learning interventions in medical education? a systematic review. J Med Internet Res [Internet]. 2016. [cited 2018 Dec 5];18(8):e204. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27480053.
Cook DA, Levinson AJ, Garside S, Dupras DM, Erwin PJ, Montori VM. Internet-based learning in the health professions. JAMA [Internet]. 2008. [cited 2018 Dec 5];300(10):1181. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18780847.
Vaona A, Banzi R, Kwag KH, Rigon G, Cereda D, Pecoraro V, et al. E-learning for health professionals. Cochrane Database Syst Rev [Internet]. 2018. 22 [cited 2019 Jan 21];(1). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD011736.pub2
Lewis KO, Cidon MJ, Seto TL, Chen H, Mahan JD. Leveraging e-learning in medical education. Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care [Internet]. 2014. [cited 2018 Nov 3];44(6):150–63. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24981664
Olson MD, Stedman-Smith MM, Fredrickson MA. Environmental health and nursing: piloting a technology-enhanced distance learning module: https://doi.org/101177/216507990505300807 [Internet]. 2017. 23 [cited 2019 Feb 7]; Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/216507990505300807
Miller MD, Valenti M, Schettler T, Tencza B. A multimedia e-book— a story of health: filling a gap in environmental health literacy for health professionals. Environ Health Perspect [Internet]. 2016 Aug [cited 2019 Mar 5];124(8). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP222
Van Dongen CJ. Environmental health and nursing practice: a survey of registered nurses. Appl Nurs Res [Internet]. 2002 1 [cited 2019 Sep 25];15(2):67–73. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0897189702800234
Leffers J,McDermott-Levy R,Smith CM, Sattler B. Nursing education’s response to the 1995 institute of medicine report: nursing, health, and the environment. Nurs Forum [Internet]. 2014 1 [cited 2019 Sep 25];49(4):214–24. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12072
Anderko L. Environmental health for childbearing women and their families. J Obstet Gynecol neonatal Nurs JOGNN [Internet]. 2010. [cited 2019 Sep 25];39(1):82–3. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20409106
Acknowledgments
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supports the PEHSU by providing partial funding to ATSDR under Inter-Agency Agreement number DW-75-95877701. Neither EPA nor ATSDR endorse the purchase of any commercial products or services mentioned in PEHSU publications.
Sources of Funding
None
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflicts of Interest
None
Additional information
Supervising Editor: Mark B. Mycyk, MD
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wong, K.H., Allen, A. & Durrani, T.S. Evaluating Effectiveness of Online Learning Modules in Pediatric Environmental Health Education. J. Med. Toxicol. 16, 269–275 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13181-019-00746-7
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13181-019-00746-7