Coronavirus Disease Programme - Evaluation Report

Summary

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic, affecting more than 123 countries around the world. Recognizing the important role of rehabilitation professionals in responding to the impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Physiopedia It was quickly determined that a rehabilitation-focused course was needed to educate the physical therapist/physical therapist about their role during the pandemic.

On March 16, 2020, Physiopedia launched a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) called “COVID-19 Project” through the Plus online learning platform. This MOOC aims to provide practicing Physiotherapists/Physiotherapists with the knowledge, practice and skills to enable them to Play an active role in global and local efforts to reduce the impact of this pandemic. The COVID-19 program will be available as a free course to anyone with an internet connection until the end of the year (December 2020).

The Coronavirus Program consists of four modules: 1) Understanding Coronavirus Disease 2) Infection Prevention and Control 3) The Role of Physiotherapy in COVID-19 and 4) Respiratory Management of COVID-19 Patients. This program is designed to help understand the identification of containment Mitigate and treat COVID-19 with 10 hours of self-directed study, including reading videos from forum discussions and quizzes. To complete the entire program and receive a certificate of program completion, learners have the option to submit and pass written assignments.

Course Type: Free, Open, Online

Institution: Physiopedia

About this course: This MOOC aims to provide practicing Physiotherapists/Physiotherapists with the knowledge, practice and skills to take an active role in global and local efforts to reduce the impact of this pandemic.

Intended Audience: This course has been developed for Physiotherapy and Physical Therapy professional clinician students and assistants. However, it is open to the public and interested learners from all healthcare backgrounds are more than welcome to attend.

Time commitment: 10 hours of study

Dates: The course was launched on March 16, 2020 and will remain open to the public until the end of the year (December 31, 2020). The following report will focus on the first 8 weeks (16 March – 10 May 2020).

Requirements: This course will be open to all learners until December 31, 2020. Approximately 10 hours are required to complete the course (depending on the learner’s schedule and learning style). Additionally, optional resources are provided throughout the course if learners Choosing to review these courses may take longer to complete.

Assessment: There is a final exam at the end of each course and participants have the option to complete a final assignment to demonstrate knowledge gained from all four courses.

Reward: Certificate of Completion for 4 courses, totaling 10 Plus(P) points.

Registration: This is a unique MOOC because Physiopedia participants do not need to register for the MOOC in advance. To access the course, participants sign up for a free trial Physio Plus membership. Over 166,000 learners accessed and participated in the course in the first 8 weeks and course content.

Countries represented: 214

Acknowledgments

The Coronavirus Disease Program is developed and delivered by Physiopedia. To support open access and to ensure that physiotherapists/physical therapists continue to share relevant knowledge information and resources, the COVID-19 program will be provided free of charge until the end of the year (December 31, 2020). Physiopedia is able to continually update this course as new knowledge emerges, creating new courses on COVID-19 and offering 10 months of free access to these courses through the generous support of World Physiotherapy.

Course coordinator:

Rachael Lowe

Content contributors:

Amanda Ager
Richard Benes
Nikhil Benhur Abburi
Shaimaa Eldib
Rewan Elsayed Elkanafany
Candace Goh
Lucinda Hampton
Kim Jackson
Rachael Lowe
Tony Lowe
Rachael Moses
Rania Nasr
Naomi O’Reilly
Tarina van der Stockt
Wanda van Niekerk

Course facilitators:

Rachael Lowe
Tony Lowe
Jess Bell

Special thanks:

Special thanks to World Physiotherapy for their great support to this project.

Course material link: https://www.physio-pedia.com/Coronavirus_(COVID-19)_Course

For any information on this report, please contact: Rachael Lowe – rachael@physio-pedia.com

Introduction

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic, affecting (at the time) more than 123 countries around the world. Physiotherapists play a vital role in managing the effects of this disorder, but physiotherapists need to acquire Knowledge and resources to enable them to play an active role in global and local efforts to reduce the impact of the epidemic.

Recognizing the vital role of rehabilitation professionals in managing the impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Physiopedia quickly identified the need for a rehabilitation-focused curriculum to educate physiotherapists/physical therapists about their role during the pandemic .

On March 16, 2020, Physiopedia launched the 9th installment of its Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) called “The Coronavirus Disease Program”. The MOOC is offered as four courses with an optional written final assignment.

We are currently living through an unprecedented global health crisis caused by the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus disease. Many vulnerable older adults, as well as our frontline healthcare workers, will bear the brunt of this crisis, but physical therapy/physiotherapy Career can also play an important role. This series of online courses will explore the nature of the pandemic and how we can play our part in mitigating it. Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause diseases such as respiratory or gastrointestinal disease. January 2020 A previously unknown coronavirus has been identified in Wuhan, China. It is mainly manifested by fever with respiratory symptoms, which can lead to severe acute respiratory distress in high-risk groups.

One of the first messages to emerge was the importance of implementing infection prevention procedures and techniques to limit healthcare-acquired infections and control the general spread of epidemics and epidemics. A key component of this is basic hand hygiene, which constitutes Basics of infection control. Using personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, masks, gowns, and goggles allows healthcare workers to protect themselves and others while treating patients with infectious diseases. Procedures for donning and doffing The use of PPE requires a specific sequence and technique to ensure optimal infection control and prevention.

Due to the respiratory nature of the virus, this course will provide an overview of the physical therapist’s role in managing COVID-19 patients in an acute hospital setting and in rehabilitation after recovery from the illness. This is an important aspect of management Among COVID-19 patients, approximately 15% of those diagnosed will develop moderate to severe disease, requiring hospitalization and oxygen support, and another 5% will require admission to the intensive care unit and undergoing procedures including intubation and ventilation Supportive therapy. most A common complication in severe COVID-19 patients is severe pneumonia, but other complications may include acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) sepsis and septic shock with multiple organ failure, including acute kidney injury and cardiac injury.

Aim

This course aims to provide an introductory insight into this novel coronavirus, including its clinical manifestations, diagnostic management, and transmission prevention. include recommendations on infection prevention and control, and specifically review procedures and policies for hand hygiene, and personal protective equipment.

It also explains the role of physical therapists in addressing issues related to COVID-19 disease, from case identification to limiting spread in different clinical settings, including acute hospital settings and in treating mild, moderate, and severe symptoms. patient

The course is delivered through the Plus eLearning platform, an innovative platform developed specifically to deliver online education and support learners with a personalized learning dashboard. For each course, related learning activities are posted on a specific course page. Participants engage in learning activities for each course, and their activity is recorded and displayed on their personal learning dashboard.

Courses are considered completed once learners have completed all required learning activities and successfully passed a final quiz at the end of each course. There is also an optional written assignment designed to demonstrate the knowledge gained from all four courses. After completing each course Participants have the option to download a certificate of completion and export a record of their learning from their activity log.

This report assesses participant experience and engagement with a COVID-19 program MOOC over the first 16 weeks (March 16-May 10).

1.0 About the Programme of Courses

1.1 Aim

The global network formed through this course will allow knowledge and experience to be shared to support good healthcare and a better quality of life for traumatic brain injury patients around the world

1.2 Learning Objectives

At the end of this lesson plan, participants will be able to:

Describing COVID-19 in terms of strain transmission latency and case definition
Correct identification of high-risk groups for COVID-19 symptoms and reasons for emergency medical treatment
Interpret infectious disease in terms of direct and indirect transmission from susceptible populations of microorganisms and standard precautions Identify the importance of environmental cleaning and disinfection strategies and proper hand hygiene
Describe practices that can help limit the spread of COVID-19
Planning an early identification strategy for COVID-19 in your clinical setting
Learn about self-isolation protocols that patients and family/caregivers can follow to reduce the spread of COVID-19
Selecting appropriate physical therapy interventions for COVID-19 patients with respiratory symptoms Listing of the most common complications of hospitalized COVID-19 patients
Correct identification of cough pattern and sputum volume in COVID-19 patients
Discuss which procedures produce aerosols and what precautions to take
Describe non-invasive and invasive mechanical ventilation in terms of using setting precautions and preventing complications to determine when COVID-19 patients are suitable for referral for respiratory physical therapy

1.3 Intended Audience

This course is intended for Physiotherapy and Physiotherapy clinician students and assistants; other interested healthcare professionals interested in this topic are very welcome to attend

1.4 Cost to participants

The course is free to all participants who complete the course by December 31, 2020. The course will continue to be free to all residents of low-income countries.

1.5 Course availability

Classes are scheduled to start on March 16, 2020, when the first courses are offered. A new course is released every Monday for 3 weeks. Participants must complete courses under Free Trial Plus by December 31, 2020. This course will continue to be offered on Plus Membership platform; membership is free for individuals in low-income countries and at a discounted rate for individuals in middle-income countries.

1.6 Course Program Awards and Certification

Four separate courses have been created for the COVID-19 program.

Lesson 1: Understanding COVID-19
Course 2: Infection Prevention and Control
Session 3: The Role of Physiotherapy in COVID-19
Session 4: Respiratory Management of COVID-19 Patients

Physiopedia provides a certificate of course completion to all participants who pass all four courses in the program.

The COVID program is accredited by the Texas Physical Therapy Association and the South African Physical Therapy Association.

2.0 Demographics of the Participants

2.1 Country

A total of 166,870 individual learners accessed and engaged with course content between March 16 and May 10, 2020. Learners come from 214 countries. 358 611 sessions were recorded in the first eight weeks. The top 5 countries participating in the course in the first 8 weeks were: India, UK, US, Canada and Netherlands (see Table 1).

Table 1: Number of sessions recorded in the first 8 weeks in the top 10 countries

Country N (%) India 59 552 (16.6%) UK 31 894 (8.9%) USA 24 276 (6.8%) Canada 19328 (5.4%) Netherlands 15512 (4.3%) Australia 15498 (4.3%) Ireland 14507 (4.0%) Egypt 12 556 (3.5) %) Pakistan 11293 (3.2%) Nigeria 10668 (3.0%)

Data are numbers (n) and percentages (%); where N is the number of sessions recorded in the previous 8 weeks (358 611)

Note: Previous Physiopedia MOOC reports described participant demographics such as occupation, professional role, years of experience, and reasons for starting the course from data obtained at registration. This MOOC is unique to Physiopedia because the goal is to make Timely access to content for as many people as possible Participants do not need to register to start courses Participants simply register for a trial account on Phyisoplus.

3.0 Engagement of the Participants

3.1 Platform

The COVID-19 program and associated four courses are offered on Plus.

3.2 Engagement

10,102 people completed the first course (Understanding COVID-19). 5813 people completed the second course (infection prevention and control). 6525 completed the third course (Role of Physiotherapy) and 4540 completed the fourth and final course (Respiratory Management of COVID-19 Patients). Table 2 shows the number of users who started and completed each course, the number of learning activities recorded, and the total number of bonus points earned. To complete each course, participants must fully participate in all relevant required learning activities and pass the course test. To pass the final course quiz, learners must score 80% or higher. Upon successful completion of quizzes and all study requirements, bonus points (P points equal to study hours) and a certificate of completion will be awarded. Table 3 shows course retention Rates per course. For the purposes of this report, course retention is the percentage of learners who start and complete a course. Course retention rates for courses 1-4 were between 55-60%, which is considered high compared to rates reported in the literature 6-10%[1]。

Table 2: Course engagement

Course 1 Course 2 Course 3 Course 4 COVID Plan Number of users who started the course 17353108591086981942792 Number of users who completed the course 1010258136525454039 Number of recorded learning activities 545916550427577304556767 Total PP points obtained 160891624817183615

Data are numbers (N) of learners

Table 3: Course retention rate

Course 1Course 2Course 3Course 4Coronavirus disease ProgramNumber users started course (n)17353108591086981942792Number users completed course (n)1010258136525454039Course pending rate (%)58S`U%1.3%

Data are numbers (n) and percentages (%); course retention is described as percentage of course completion compared to beginners

3.3 Discussion Forums

Each course includes an optional discussion sheet. Learners are encouraged to communicate with knowledge users from around the world on different topics related to the course. These discussions are designed to provide learners with a rich learning experience through self-reflection and community got engaged. Table 4 shows the number of discussion posts for each of the four courses. In the first 8 weeks of the program, there were 1255 discussion posts.

Table 4: Discussion forum posts

Course 1 Course 2 Course 3 Course 4 Number of Discussion Posts 460391211193

Data are number (n) of individual posts.

3.4 Final Assignment

An optional final assignment is designed to allow learners to reflect on their learning and use the knowledge gained throughout the course. Participants were asked to follow the assignment guidelines on Physiopedia, and the Physiopedia team assessed the submitted assignments. successfully passed The final assignment that learners will need to demonstrate: Evidence of learning from the course academic skills through evidence-based writing and appropriate referencing. Assignments must be written in English. A total of 376 assignments were submitted, 50 of which met the assignment requirements required, and earn a passing grade.

4.0 Participant Feedback

4.1 Course feedback

After completing each of the four courses, learners have the option to share their feedback on the course. Learners are asked to rate their overall opinion of the course on a 5-point scale from excellent to poor. 85.5-90.5% of respondents rated the course as excellent or Excellent. Table 5 and Figures 1 to 4 show the results for each course.

Table 5: Participant feedback for each course

Course 1 Course 2 Course 3 Course 4 Excellent (5) 2009 (59.0%) 1448 (54.6%) 903 (55.7%) 676 (55.5%) Excellent (4) 1072 (31.5%) 861 (32.4%) 490 (30.2%) )363 (30.0%) good (3)292 (8.6%)314 (11.8%)194 (12.0%)147 (12.0%) fair (2)17 (0.5%)22 (0.85)22 (1.4%)26 (2.1%) Difference (1) 13 (0.4%) 7 (0.3%) 10 (0.6%) 3 (0.2%) Total Response 3404265416221219

Data are numbers (n) and percentages (%)

Figure 1: Overall course ratings for Introduction to Coronavirus Disease (COVID19) (n=3404)

Figure 2: Overall Ratings for Infection Prevention and Control Courses (n=2654)

Figure 3: Overall course ratings for the role of physical therapy in COVID-19 (n = 1622)

Figure 4: Overall course scores for respiratory management of COVID-19 patients (n=1219)

4.2 Physiotherapists specific feedback

Physiotherapists who completed all four courses had the opportunity to voluntarily participate in a questionnaire investigating their current relationship to the COVID-19 pandemic and to investigate whether participation in Physiopedia’s coronavirus disease program MOOC has improved their performance Knowledge and confidence in working with COVID-19 patients. More than 580 physical therapists responded to the questionnaire.

Preliminary results showed that the majority of respondents (90%) agreed that after completing the program they had a better understanding of clinical manifestations, diagnostic management and prevention of COVID-19 and their understanding of infection prevention and control and procedures Policies on hand hygiene and personal protective equipment have also improved. 83% agreed that their understanding of respiratory management for COVID-19 patients and the role that physiotherapists can play in managing these issues improved after completing the modules. Most Respondents Highest confidence in their ability to identify the most common complications in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and least confident in their ability to identify radiologic findings of acute respiratory distress syndrome.

After completing the program, respondents reported that their clinical practice was positively impacted by increased awareness of infection prevention and control measures, including proper use of personal protective equipment, hand hygiene, and symptom screening, and their ability to advocate The role of physical therapy in patients with COVID-19.

5.0 Conclusion

Physiopedia successfully created and delivered the MOOC 5 days after the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. More than 10,102 learners from all over the world have completed one or more of the courses offered in the programme. Free access to accurate and up-to-date information during the pandemic Critical. MOOCs for rehabilitation professionals appear to be an effective strategy for reaching large numbers of individuals from around the world during the pandemic.

Future work will explore physical therapists’ current engagement with the COVID-19 pandemic and determine whether participation in Physiopedia’s coronavirus disease program MOOC has improved physical therapists’ knowledge and confidence to work with COVID-19 patients.