Broclain D, Nivet-Carre D, Nory F, Mura P, Barbot J, Bardelay G; International Society of Technology Assessment in Health Care. Meeting.

Annu Meet Int Soc Technol Assess Health Care Int Soc Technol Assess Health Care Meet. 1998; 14: 88.

La revue Prescrire, Paris, France.

OBJECTIVE: The objective for this study was to determine whether general practitioners' participation in a readers' test of a continuing medical eduction (CME) journal improves knowledge recall of valid data. METHOD: A quasi-experimental design was adopted to compare three groups of physicians, all members of the College des Hautes Etudes en Medecine Generale de Bretagne (CHEMG): group A - subscribers to journal and readers test; group B - subscribers to journal only, and group C - non-subscribers. All physicians were interviewed over the phone in January and June 1994 and subjected to a knowledge test that contained nine true false questions. Interviewers were blinded to the true responses; physicians were unaware of the study's objective and of the second interview. In April 1994, the readers' test required its participants to indicate the correctness of statements referring to information published 2 months earlier and containing the true responses of the study knowledge test. Statistical analysis was done via an "intention to treat" comparison of post-intervention scores (min: 0, max: 9) and comparison of the change in scores from pre- to post-intervention using a two-sample t-test and paired t-test respectively. RESULTS: Of 373 physicians, 24 (54%), 42 (38%) and 26 (11%) in group A, B, and C respectively agreed to participate. Mean scores were 5.4 +/- 0.68, 5.1 +/- 0.45 and 4.2 +/-0.66 at pre-intervention, and 6.8 +/- 0.77, 4.6 +/-0.49, and 5.1 +/- 0.66 at post-intervention for group A, B and C respectively. Group A and C had a statistically significant improvement in scores, with a mean change of 1.38 +/-0.76 (p<0.0002) and 0.84 +/-0.67 (p<0.02). CONCLUSION: This is the first study examining the effectiveness of readers tests in the context of CME. Physicians participating at the reader's test had a significant improvement in knowledge scores compared to non-participants.

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• Epidemiologic Studies
• Knowledge
• Physicians
• Physicians, Family
• Prospective Studies
• Research Design
• instrumentation
• methods
• hsrmtgs

Other ID:

• HTX/99600386

UI: 102237064

From Meeting Abstracts