Effectiveness of a strategy that uses educational games to implement clinical practice guidelines among Spanish residents of family and community medicine (e-EDUCAGUIA project): A clinical trial by clusters

Isabel del Cura-González (Lead / Corresponding author), Juan A. López-Rodríguez, Teresa Sanz-Cuesta, Ricardo Rodríguez-Barrientos, Jesús Martín-Fernández, Gloria Ariza-Cardiel, Elena Polentinos-Castro, Begoña Román-Crespo, Esperanza Escortell-Mayor, Milagros Rico-Blázquez, Virginia Hernandez Santiago, Amaya Azcoaga-Lorenzo, Elena Ojeda-Ruiz, Ana I. González-González, José F. Ávila-Tomas, Jaime Barrio-Cortés, José M. Molero-García, Raul Ferrer-Peña, María Eugenia Tello-Bernabé, Mar Trujillo-MartínAraceli Garrido Barral, Aurora Fernández Moreno, Paloma Casado Pérez, Emilio Cervera Barba, María Teresa Rodríguez Monje, Ana Gorroñogoitia Iturbe, Luis Ignacio Mendibil Crespo, M. Eulalia Mariñelarena Mañeru, Ma Josefa Gil de Gómez Barragan, Sofía Garrido Elustondo, Rosario Riesgo Fuertes, Luisa María Cabello Ballesteros, Rocío álvarez Nido, Cruz Bartolome Moreno, Guillermo Cairo Rojas, Jose Luis Lopez Rivas, Amaya Zenarutzabeitia Pikatza, Carmen Sánchez Celaya, Mariel Morey Montalvo, Lizzy Paola Cisneros Almeida, Manuel Del álamo Rodríguez, Alberto López García-Franco, Elisa Ceresuela Weismann, Remedios Martín álvarez, Beatriz Medina Bustillo, Marta Sánchez Celaya del Pozo, Luis Sánchez Perruca, Miguel ángel Salinero Fort, Carmen de Burgos Luna, Angel Mataix SanJuan, Marta Alcaraz Borrajo, Javier de Miguel Díaz, Nerea Fernández Larrea, Tomas Gómez Gascón, Ana Pastor Rodriguez-Moñino, Sonia Soto Díaz, Silvia Pulido Fernández, Angel Alberquilla Menéndez-Asenjo, Luis García Olmos

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    Abstract

    Background: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have been developed with the aim of helping health professionals, patients, and caregivers make decisions about their health care, using the best available evidence. In many cases, incorporation of these recommendations into clinical practice also implies a need for changes in routine clinical practice. Using educational games as a strategy for implementing recommendations among health professionals has been demonstrated to be effective in some studies; however, evidence is still scarce. The primary objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a teaching strategy for the implementation of CPGs using educational games (e-learning EDUCAGUIA) to improve knowledge and skills related to clinical decision-making by residents in family medicine. The primary objective will be evaluated at 1 and 6months after the intervention. The secondary objectives are to identify barriers and facilitators for the use of guidelines by residents of family medicine and to describe the educational strategies used by Spanish teaching units of family and community medicine to encourage implementation of CPGs. 

    Methods/design: We propose a multicenter clinical trial with randomized allocation by clusters of family and community medicine teaching units in Spain. The sample size will be 394 residents (197 in each group), with the teaching units as the randomization unit and the residents comprising the analysis unit. For the intervention, both groups will receive an initial 1-h session on clinical practice guideline use and the usual dissemination strategy by e-mail. The intervention group (e-learning EDUCAGUIA) strategy will consist of educational games with hypothetical clinical scenarios in a virtual environment. The primary outcome will be the score obtained by the residents on evaluation questionnaires for each clinical practice guideline. Other included variables will be the sociodemographic and training variables of the residents and the teaching unit characteristics. The statistical analysis will consist of a descriptive analysis of variables and a baseline comparison of both groups. For the primary outcome analysis, an average score comparison of hypothetical scenario questionnaires between the EDUCAGUIA intervention group and the control group will be performed at 1 and 6months post-intervention, using 95% confidence intervals. A linear multilevel regression will be used to adjust the model. 

    Discussion: The identification of effective teaching strategies will facilitate the incorporation of available knowledge into clinical practice that could eventually improve patient outcomes. The inclusion of information technologies as teaching tools permits greater learning autonomy and allows deeper instructor participation in the monitoring and supervision of residents. The long-term impact of this strategy is unknown; however, because it is aimed at professionals undergoing training and it addresses prevalent health problems, a small effect can be of great relevance. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02210442.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number71
    Pages (from-to)1-10
    Number of pages10
    JournalImplementation Science
    Volume11
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 17 May 2016

    Keywords

    • Experimental
    • Games
    • Health personnel/education
    • Practice guidelines as a topic
    • Problem solving
    • Professional competence

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Health Policy
    • General Medicine
    • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
    • Health Informatics

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