Capacity building of health professionals on omics sciences: evaluation of the effectiveness of a distance learning training course for Italian physicians.

Abstract

Background. The rapid adoption of personalized medicine approaches in healthcare requires professionals to be able to manage the “omics revolution”. In this context, the genetics/genomics literacy of healthcare professionals should be in line with the continuous advances in this field, in order to implement its potential implications for the diagnosis, control and treatment of diseases. The present study investigates the effectiveness of a distance learning course on genetics and genomics targeted at medical doctors.Methods. In the context of a project funded by the Italian Ministry of Health, we developed a distance learning course, entitled Genetics and Genomics practice. The contents of the course were identified from a core curriculum in genetics for physicians and healthcare professionals, previously published. The course focused on genetic/genomic testing in clinical practice, pharmacogenomics and oncogenomic and was developed according to andragogical training methods (Problem-based Learning and Case-based Learning). We used a pre-test versus post-test study design to assess knowledge improvement on a set of 10 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs). We analysed the proportion of correct answers for each question pre and post-test, as well as the mean score difference stratified by gender, age, professional status and medical discipline. Moreover, the same test was submitted to the participants eight months after the conclusion of the course (follow-up), in order to assess the retained knowledge.Results. An important number of Italian physicians (N= 1637) completed the course, most of which were primary care physicians (20.8%), public health professionals (11.5%) and specialist paediatricians (10.6%). We reported an improvement in the proportion of correct answers for all of the 10 MCQs set at the post-test. The overall mean score to the questions significantly increased in the post-test, from 59.46 in the pre-test to 71.42 in the post-test (p-value<0.0001). The comparison in test performance between follow-up and pre-test demonstrated an overall knowledge improvement.Conclusions. Genomic literacy among healthcare professionals is essential to ensure optimal translation to healthcare delivery of research. The results of this course suggest that distance-learning training in genetic/genomic practices represents an effective method to improve physicians’ knowledge in the immediate and mid-term time scale.

Capacity Building of Health Professionals on Genetics and Genomics Practice: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Distance Learning Training Course for Italian Physicians

“…The course methodology integrated the PBL ( Schmidt et al, 2011 ; Mazzaccara et al, 2013 ) and the CBL ( McLean, 2016 ), in order to satisfy the strong clinical orientation of the course. Over the years PBL has been adapted to the e-learning context and different learning models have been developed, depending on the level of interaction between participants and facilitator ( Mazzaccara et al, 2013 ; Calabrò et al, 2019 ). In courses with high turnout, the participants follow the steps of the PBL by their own, even if small groups or facilitator is not provided.…”

“…More recently, the “Italian National Plan for innovation of the Health System based on omics sciences” identified the educational efforts toward professionals, citizens and decision makers as a cornerstone for a proper implementation of omics sciences in healthcare ( Boccia et al, 2017 ). In the context of Continuous Medical Education (CME), the Italian Ministry of Health has supported a course entitled “Genetics and Genomics practice” ( Calabrò et al, 2019 ). With the purpose of training medical professionals in the responsible use of omics technologies, a distance learning method was chosen.…”

Precision Medicine and Public Health: New Challenges for Effective and Sustainable Health

“…Such educational efforts are in line with the goals of the Italian National Innovation Plan of the Healthcare System, based on omics sciences and published in 2017 [ 188 ]. Since 2011, in the context of two different projects funded by the Italian Ministry of Health (MoH), two effective distance training courses on genetics and genomics have been released for physicians [ 191 , 192 ]. Other initiatives in this field are currently underway in Italy, directed at a larger audience of healthcare professionals including biologists, pharmacists, and other professional categories ( ) [ 193 ].…”

“…A striking example of the potential impact of omics technologies on citizens’ health and healthcare systems is direct-to-consumer genetic tests (DTC-GTs). The increasing demand for DTC-GTs among laypeople, together with their peculiar provisional model—i.e., not requiring counseling by health professionals—need not only a careful analysis of the potential benefits and risks by policy-makers [ 195 ], but also informed citizens who can be aware of them and, consequently, make appropriate decisions about their health [ 192 ]. For these reasons, citizens’ literacy in omics sciences, which is poor according to the literature [ 196 ], should be increased using appropriate and effective initiatives and strategies.…”

Capacity building of health professionals on omics sciences: evaluation of the effectiveness of a distance learning training course for Italian physicians.

“…More recently, the Italian National Plan for innovation of the Health System based on omics sciences, identified educational efforts towards professionals, citizens and decision makers as a cornerstone for a proper implementation of omics sciences in healthcare [8]. In this context, the Italian Ministry of Health has supported a distance learning course entitled "Genetics and Genomics practice", aimed to train medical professionals and in particular at primary care physicians, in the responsible use of omics technologies [9]. The course included audio-video lectures and interactive clinical cases and it was structured according to the main models of andragogic training (Problem-based Learning and Case-based Learning).…”