Training family doctors and primary care nurses in evidence-based prevention, screening and management of cardiovascular risks in Western Ukraine: A longitudinal study
Article Category: Research Article
Published Online: Oct 18, 2020
Page range: 227 - 235
Received: Nov 09, 2019
Accepted: Sep 12, 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjph-2020-0029
Keywords
© 2020 National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
Introduction
The Ukrainian primary healthcare programme of preventive and screening recommendations has not been evidence-based. The traditional system of continuous medical education in Ukraine places participants in the role of passive listeners. This study explored the effects of an interactive training course on evidence-based prevention and screening of cardiovascular risks, on changes in Ukrainian family doctors’ (FDs) and primary care nurses’ (PCNs) knowledge and readiness to change practice over time.
Methods
Three hundred and seven FDs and PCNs participated in the study. Changes in participants’ knowledge were assessed with 20 multiple choice questions, and their readiness to change practice with a five-item questionnaire. These were administered before, immediately after, three and twelve months after training.
Results
The mean pre-course knowledge score was 6.1 (SD 1.8) out of 20, increasing to 14.9 (SD 2.3) immediately afterwards (p<0.001). Three months later it was 10.2 (SD 3.2) and at one year it was 10.4 (SD 3.3), both of which were significantly higher than the pre-training level (p<0.005). The percentage of participants that were highly motivated to change their practice increased from 18.4% before the training to 62.3% immediately afterwards (p<0.001). Three months later, this fell to 40.4%. At 12 months it further reduced to 27.4%, but was still significantly higher than the baseline level (p<0.001).
Conclusions
The interactive training was effective in increasing both participants’ knowledge and their readiness to change their clinical practice. The impact of the training diminished over time, but was still evident a year later.