In educational settings, microlearning has previously demonstrated positive outcomes, but it can often be limited by fragmented or incomplete information. In an attempt to assess whether microlearning can help close knowledge gaps present in the asthma setting, authors of a study published in CHEST Pulmonary established an online educational program on asthma that featured microlearning modules. The study determined whether it was feasible and useful in improving the knowledge of health care professionals.
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The authors created the CHEST Curriculum Pathway for Asthma, an online program based on the Kern 6-step model of curriculum development. The program consolidated asthma knowledge that is relevant to health care professionals, putting everything in a single resource that could be completed in microlearning segments. The following steps are a part of the Kern 6-step approach: problem identification; targeted needs assessment; goals and objectives; educational strategies; implementation; and evaluation and assessment. The authors published the curriculum online in September 2022 on the CHEST learning management website.
According to the authors, the platform was launched from September 1, 2022, until February 28, 2023. A total of 523 unique participants began the curriculum, of which approximately 62.1% (n = 325) were attending physicians, 22.0% (n = 115) were fellows-in-training, and 10.1% (n = 53) were non-physician health care professionals. About 43.0% (n = 225) were practicing for less than 5 years, and most of the participants were CHEST members (79.0%; n = 413). Participants were primarily practicing pulmonary medicine (79.0%; n = 413) and/or critical care medicine (53.9%; n = 282).
Additionally, of the 523 total participants, only 11 (2%) had completed the entire CHEST Curriculum Pathway for Asthma, and the remainder were in progress as of February 28, 2023, the study’s end date. Just over 50% (n = 262) of the participants had completed at least 1 chapter of the curriculum. A total of 836 logged separate learning instances were recorded with an average of 1.6 views of content per participant. Total engagement was 232 hours and 43 minutes.
The overall satisfaction levels with the CHEST Curriculum Pathway for Asthma were high, according to the authors. Among the 262 participants who completed at least 1 chapter’s post-course satisfaction survey, about 97.3% (n = 255) had reported either a positive or extremely positive impression of the pathway, 98.1% (n = 258) reported the interface was easily navigable, 99.2% (n = 260) had agreed or strongly agreed it aligned with their educational needs, and 97.3% (n = 255) indicated the stated learning objectives were achieved in the curriculum. Overall, participants answered approximately 68% of the knowledge pre-test correctly and 82% of the post-test correctly.
Additionally, when participants clicked on a video, they watched an average of 82.8% of the video. Sections that had a shorter total video time were more likely to have a higher completion percentage compared with those with longer completion times. Content that appeared later in sections were also more likely to have fewer views compared with content that appeared earlier.
The authors acknowledge that there are several limitations including the following: low completion rate of the entire curriculum, making it difficult to compare characteristics between those who completed the program and those who did not; low number of participants which can introduce bias; the length of the CHEST Curriculum Pathway for Asthma, which may have intimidated users or negatively affected the completion rate; potential difficulties for users while navigating the interface; and the lack of a comparison group. Further, the study authors note that because the CHEST organization does not have access to electronic medical records, the authors were unable to objectively assess for changes in health system practice patterns and self-reported improvements by health care professionals.
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