Miwa Arita: Department of Clinical Genetics, University of Tsukuba Hospital, Japan.
Takami Maeno: Department of General Medicine and Primary Care, University of Tsukuba Hospital, Japan.
Emiko Noguchi: Department of Clinical Genetics, University of Tsukuba Hospital, Japan.
Motoko Sasaki: Department of Genetic Counseling, Division of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences, Ochanomizu, University, Tokyo, Japan.
Hidehiko Miyake: Department of Genetic Counseling, Division of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences, Ochanomizu, University, Tokyo, Japan.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to confirm and evaluate the learning effect of a physician-facing e-learning course on genetic medicine for improving genomic literacy. Methods: We employed qualitative and quantitative methodology to survey 103 physicians who took the course at a national university in Japan. Evaluations were conducted at the levels of participant feedback, learning, and behaviour. Participants completed a questionnaire and test (full score = 100) before and after the course. Pre- and post-test scores were compared using paired-samples t-tests and Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the difference their clinical experience. The effect size was estimated using Cohen's d. Results: Responses were obtained from 96 physicians. Approximately 80% (n = 75-93) of participants responded positively to the course, a result supported by the qualitative data. The mean scores for the pre- and post-test showed an increase from 71.25 to 74.58 (p=0.008). In particular, mean test scores increased significantly from 68.94 to 75.53 (p<0.001) in physicians with no clinical experience in genetic medicine, while no significance was observed scores for physicians with clinical experience in genetics from 73.47 to 73.67 (p=0.903). Behavioural assessment was carried out for 28 participants; however, no statistically significant differences were identified. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that our e-learning course was useful for physicians with no experience of genetic medicine. For those with experience, it may be necessary to provide more practice-based education and educational methodologies. Behavioural assessment needs to be examined further.
