PMID- 29334925 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20190226 LR - 20220330 IS - 1471-227X (Electronic) IS - 1471-227X (Linking) VI - 18 IP - 1 DP - 2018 Jan 15 TI - Implementing blended learning in emergency airway management training: a randomized controlled trial. PG - 1 LID - 10.1186/s12873-018-0152-y [doi] LID - 1 AB - BACKGROUND: While emergency airway management training is conventionally conducted via face-to-face learning (F2FL) workshops, there are inherent cost, time, place and manpower limitations in running such workshops. Blended learning (BL) refers to the systematic integration of online and face-to-face learning aimed to facilitate complex thinking skills and flexible participation at a reduced financial, time and manpower cost. This study was conducted to evaluate its effectiveness in emergency airway management training. METHODS: A single-center prospective randomised controlled trial involving 30 doctors from Sarawak General Hospital, Malaysia was conducted from September 2016 to February 2017 to compare the effectiveness of BL versus F2FL for emergency airway management training. Participants in the BL arm were given a period of 12 days to go through the online materials in a learning management system while those in the F2FL arm attended a-day of face-to-face lectures (8 h). Participants from both arms then attended a day of hands-on session consisting of simulation skills training with airway manikins. Pre- and post-tests in knowledge and practical skills were administered. E-learning experience and the perception towards BL among participants in the BL arm were also assessed. RESULTS: Significant improvements in post-test scores as compared to pre-test scores were noted for participants in both BL and F2FL arms for knowledge, practical, and total scores. The degree of increment between the BL group and the F2FL arms for all categories were not significantly different (total scores: 35 marks, inter-quartile range (IQR) 15.0 - 41.0 vs. 31 marks, IQR 24.0 - 41.0, p = 0.690; theory scores: 18 marks, IQR 9 - 24 vs. 19 marks, IQR 15 - 20, p = 0.992; practical scores: 11 marks, IQR 5 -18 vs. 10 marks, IQR 9 - 20, p = 0.461 respectively). The overall perception towards BL was positive. CONCLUSIONS: Blended learning is as effective as face-to-face learning for emergency airway management training of junior doctors, suggesting that blended learning may be a feasible alternative to face-to-face learning for such skill training in emergency departments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Malaysian National Medical Research NMRR-16-696-30190 . Registered 28 April 2016. FAU - Kho, Madeleine Huei Tze AU - Kho MHT AD - Emergency Medicine and Trauma Department, Sarawak General Hospital, Jalan Hospital, Kuching, 93586, Sarawak, Malaysia. FAU - Chew, Keng Sheng AU - Chew KS AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-6326-8210 AD - Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, 94300, Sarawak, Malaysia. kschew@unimas.my. FAU - Azhar, Muhaimin Noor AU - Azhar MN AD - Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia. FAU - Hamzah, Mohd Lotfi AU - Hamzah ML AD - Emergency Medicine and Trauma Department, Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah, Kuala Terengganu, 20400, Trengganu, Malaysia. FAU - Chuah, Kee Man AU - Chuah KM AD - Faculty of Language Studies and Communication Studies, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, 94300, Sarawak, Malaysia. FAU - Bustam, Aida AU - Bustam A AD - Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia. FAU - Chan, Hiang Chuan AU - Chan HC AD - Emergency Medicine and Trauma Department, Sarawak General Hospital, Jalan Hospital, Kuching, 93586, Sarawak, Malaysia. LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Randomized Controlled Trial DEP - 20180115 PL - England TA - BMC Emerg Med JT - BMC emergency medicine JID - 100968543 SB - IM MH - Adult MH - Airway Management/*methods MH - Clinical Competence MH - Computer-Assisted Instruction/*methods MH - Female MH - Humans MH - Internet MH - *Learning MH - Malaysia MH - Male MH - Prospective Studies MH - *Students, Medical PMC - PMC5769207 OTO - NOTNLM OT - Blended learning OT - E-learning OT - Emergency airway management OT - Online learning COIS- ETHICS APPROVAL AND CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE: Ethics approval was obtained from the Medical Research and Ethics Committee, Ministry Of Health Malaysia and informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to commencement of the study. CONSENT FOR PUBLICATION: Not applicable COMPETING INTERESTS: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. EDAT- 2018/01/18 06:00 MHDA- 2019/02/27 06:00 PMCR- 2018/01/15 CRDT- 2018/01/17 06:00 PHST- 2017/08/07 00:00 [received] PHST- 2018/01/01 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2018/01/17 06:00 [entrez] PHST- 2018/01/18 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2019/02/27 06:00 [medline] PHST- 2018/01/15 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - 10.1186/s12873-018-0152-y [pii] AID - 152 [pii] AID - 10.1186/s12873-018-0152-y [doi] PST - epublish SO - BMC Emerg Med. 2018 Jan 15;18(1):1. doi: 10.1186/s12873-018-0152-y.