Conference abstract

Cases without borders: can online discussion of clinical cases between high and low resource countries enhance learning in paediatrics?

Pan African Medical Journal - Conference Proceedings. 2018:9(28).24 Aug 2018.
doi: 10.11604/pamj-cp.2018.9.28.755
Archived on: 24 Aug 2018
Contact the corresponding author
Keywords: Mann-Whitney-U, high and low resource countries, skype, whatsapp
Poster

Cases without borders: can online discussion of clinical cases between high and low resource countries enhance learning in paediatrics?

Caroline Crehan1,2,&, Mark Lee3,4

1Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, North Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom, 2Zomba Central Hospital, Malawi, 3Northwick Park Hospital, London North West Healthcare NHS Trust, United Kingdom, London, 4MSF, OCP, Liberia Mission, Liberia

&Corresponding author
Caroline Crehan, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, North Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom, Zomba Central Hospital, Malawi

Abstract

Introduction: gaining exposure to global child health can be difficult to organise both financially and logistically. The aim of this projet was to evaluate perceived learning benefits of an online case-exchange programme highlighting the similarities and differences in clinical management between contrasting settings.

Methods: on-line case-exchanges were carried out over five months between two facilities; Zomba central hospital, Malawi and Northwick park hospital, UK. Clinicians, nurses and students from both facilities were invited to attend sessions facilitated by a UK registrar in each setting, using skype or whatsapp. Proformas, were circulated to participants in advance. The clerking and management of a case from each setting was entered and emailed to the whole group. During the presentation and discussion, the other hospital considered how that case would be managed in their alternative setting, completing the proforma. Feedback was collected at the end using an unvalidated perceived learning questionnaire devised by the facilitators.

Results: 6 case exchange sessions were held covering 12 paired paediatric cases. Feedback was collected from 13 participants (7 from Malawi, 6 from UK). Mean likert score of all 10 questions was 4.26 out of 5 for all responders, 4.3 for Malawi and 4.2 for the UK, indicating perceived learning was high and similar for both groups. There was no statistically significant difference in mean scores between the groups (p < 0.05 using Mann-Whitney-U) for all feedback questions.

Conclusion: cases without borders was perceived to enhance learning across settings benefiting both sides equally suggesting it is a suitable model for on-line case-exchange programmes. Qualitative feedback suggests potential for increased interest and participation in evidence based medicine and global child health in both contexts. Future iterations would benefit from a more stable internet connection and collect feedback from a larger sample, using a validated feedback tool.