Metodologias educativas na aprendizagem de primeiros socorros em escolas: Revisão de Escopo / Educational methodologies in learning first aid in schools: scope review / Metodologías educativas en el aprendizaje de los primeros auxilios en la escuela: revisión del alcance

Objetivo: descrever as metodologias educativas e seus resultados no ensino de primeiros socorros para professores e estudantes do Ensino Fundamental. Método: revisão de escopo com artigos publicados em português, inglês ou espanhol. Incluíram-se artigos originais, artigos de revisão e relatos de experiência sobre metodologias de ensino-aprendizagem em primeiros socorros. A revisão abrangeu 21 estudos publicados entre os anos de 2015 e 2020. Resultados: abordagens educativas tradicionais do tipo treinamento teórico-prático predominaram; entretanto, como mais efetivas, foram apontadas as metodologias que oportunizam a participação ativa dos educandos na construção dos cenários e desafios de aprendizagem. As competências para educação em primeiros socorros demandam domínio de habilidades, conhecimentos e atitudes, podendo ser desenvolvidas por leigos (professores e estudantes), desde que eles recebam o devido treinamento. Aplicação pré e pós-teste foi o recurso utilizado para aferir os resultados da relação ensino-aprendizagem, com expressiva variabilidade quanto aos critérios amostrais e temporais. Conclusão: independente da metodologia educativa e do método avaliativo utilizados, a aprendizagem de primeiros socorros nas escolas produz impacto positivo na autoeficácia das respostas às situações de emergência, tanto para estudantes quanto para professores. O ensino deve ser estimulado no ambiente escolar, de acordo com as especificidades de faixa etária e com periodicidade anual.(AU)

Objective: to describe educational methodologies and their results in teaching first aid to elementary school teachers and students. Method: scoping review with articles published in Portuguese, English or Spanish. Original articles, review articles and experience reports on teaching-learning methodologies in first aid were included. The review covered 21 studies published between 2015 and 2020. Results: traditional educational approaches of the theoretical-practical training type predominated; however, as more effective, methodologies that provide the active participation of students in the construction of learning scenarios and challenges were highlighted. Competencies for first aid education require mastery of skills, knowledge, and attitudes, and can be developed by lay people (teachers and students) if they receive the appropriate training. Pre- and post-test application was the resource used to assess the results of the teaching-learning relationship, with significant variability in terms of sampling and temporal criteria. Conclusion: regardless of the educational methodology and evaluation method used, learning first aid in schools has a positive impact on self-efficacy in responding to emergency situations, both for students and teachers. Teaching must be encouraged in the school environment, according to the specificities of the age group and on an annual basis.(AU)

Objetivo: describir metodologías educativas y sus resultados en la enseñanza de primeros auxilios a profesores y alumnos de enseñanza primaria. Método: revisión exploratoria con artículos publicados en portugués, inglés o español. Se incluyeron artículos originales, artículos de revisión e informes de experiencias sobre metodologías de enseñanza-aprendizaje en primeros auxilios. Resultados: la revisión abarcó 21 estudios publicados entre 2015 y 2020. Predominaron los enfoques educativos tradicionales de tipo formativo teórico-práctico, sin embargo, las metodologías que brindan oportunidades para la participación activa de los estudiantes en la construcción de escenarios y desafíos de aprendizaje fueron señaladas como las más efectivas. Las competencias para la enseñanza de primeros auxilios exigen el dominio de habilidades, conocimientos y actitudes, y pueden ser desarrolladas por personas legas (profesores y alumnos), siempre que estén debidamente cualificadas. La aplicación de pre y postest fue el recurso utilizado para evaluar los resultados de la relación enseñanza-aprendizaje, con variabilidad significativa en cuanto a los criterios de muestra y tiempo. Conclusión: independientemente de la metodología educativa y del método de evaluación utilizados, el aprendizaje de primeros auxilios en la escuela tiene un impacto positivo en la autoeficacia para responder a situaciones de emergencia, tanto para los alumnos como para los profesores. La enseñanza debe estimularse en el medio escolar de acuerdo con las especificidades del grupo de edad, con periodicidad anual.(AU)

A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of Patient Education Materials for Colorectal Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Patient education materials are created by professional organizations to inform patients about their disease and its treatment. However, it remains unclear if these materials are appropriate for patients. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to broadly evaluate the education materials for patients with colorectal cancer. DESIGN: Patient education materials from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, the National Cancer Institute, and the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons were assessed quantitatively by using 1) the Flesch-Kincaid readability formula and 2) the Patient Education Material Assessment Tool. The Patient Education Material Assessment Tool scores materials in 2 domains: understandability and actionability. These materials were further evaluated qualitatively via an exploratory focus group with patients and their caregivers (n = 5) and semi-structured interviews with board-certified/eligible colorectal surgeons (n = 10). SETTING: This study was conducted at academic centers and a regional professional society meeting. PARTICIPANTS: The mean patient age was 63. Most surgeons (8/10) practiced in an academic setting, and 4/10 were female. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes measured were reading grade level and domain scores for the Patient Education Material Assessment Tool. Qualitative data were recorded, transcribed, and coded. Themes were generated through data interpretation and data reduction. RESULTS: Materials ranged from 7th to 11th grade reading level. National Comprehensive Cancer Network materials scored highest for understandability (92.2% ± 6.1%, mean ± SD), followed by National Cancer Institute (84.0% ± 6.6%) and American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (82.2% ± 6.3%) materials. Actionability scores varied; the National Comprehensive Cancer Network materials scored 82.5% ± 1.7%, whereas the National Cancer Institute and American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons materials scored 23.3% ± 6.7% and 50.0% ± 8.2%. Critical gaps were identified in the content of these materials. Patients wanted more information about self-care, both emotional and physical. Specifically, patients sought details about postoperative bowel function. Whereas surgeons wanted information about the typical hospital course and recovery, all wanted materials to be customizable. LIMITATIONS: A limited number of materials were reviewed, and patient focus groups were exploratory. CONCLUSIONS: Commonly available printed education materials for colorectal cancer are written at a high reading grade level, vary in their usability, and neglect important details about postoperative recovery. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/B535. EVALUACIN DE MTODOS MIXTOS DE MATERIALES EDUCATIVOS PARA PACIENTES SOBRE CNCER COLORECTAL: ANTECEDENTES:Los materiales educativos para pacientes son creados por organizaciones profesionales para informar a los pacientes sobre su enfermedad y su tratamiento. Sin embargo, no está claro si estos materiales son apropiados para los pacientes.OBJETIVO:Evaluar ampliamente los materiales para el cáncer colorrectal.DISEÑO:Los materiales educativos para pacientes de la Red Nacional Integral del Cáncer (NCCN), el Instituto Nacional del Cáncer (NCI) y la Sociedad Americana de Cirujanos de Colon y Recto (ASCRS) se evaluaron cuantitativamente utilizando (1) la fórmula de legibilidad de Flesch-Kincaid y (2) la herramienta de evaluación de material educativo para pacientes. La Herramienta de evaluación de materiales educativos para pacientes califica los materiales en dos dominios: comprensibilidad y viabilidad. Estos materiales fueron evaluados cualitativamente a través de un grupo de enfoque exploratorio con pacientes y sus cuidadores (n = 5) y entrevistas semiestructuradas con cirujanos colorrectales certificados o elegibles para certificación por el consejo (n = 10).ESCENARIO:Centros académicos y un encuentro regional de una sociedad profesional.PACIENTES:La edad media de los pacientes fue de 63 años. La mayoría de los cirujanos (8/10) practicaban en un entorno académico, y 4/10 eran mujeres.PRINCIPALES MEDIDAS DE RESULTADO:Nivel de grado de lectura y puntajes de dominios para la Herramienta de evaluación de materiales educativos para pacientes. Los datos cualitativos se registraron, transcribieron y codificaron. Los temas se generaron mediante la interpretación y la reducción de datos.RESULTADOS:Los materiales variaron desde el nivel de lectura del 7° al 11° grado. Los materiales de la NCCN obtuvieron la puntuación más alta en comprensibilidad (92.2 ± 6.1%, media ± DE), seguidos por los materiales de NCI (84.0 ± 6.6%) y ASCRS (82.2 ± 6.3%). Los puntajes de viabilidad variaron; Los materiales de NCCN obtuvieron una puntuación de 82.5 ± 1.7%, mientras que los materiales de NCI y ASCRS obtuvieron una puntuación de 23.3 ± 6.7% y 50.0 ± 8.2%, respectivamente. Se identificaron lagunas críticas en el contenido de estos materiales. Los pacientes querían más información sobre el autocuidado, tanto emocional como físico. Específicamente, los pacientes buscaron detalles sobre la función intestinal posoperatoria. Mientras que los cirujanos querían información sobre el curso hospitalario típico y la recuperación, y todos querían que los materiales fueran personalizables.LIMITACIONES:Se revisó una cantidad limitada de materiales y los grupos de enfoque de pacientes fueron exploratorios.CONCLUSIONES:Los materiales educativos impresos comúnmente disponibles para el cáncer colorrectal están escritos a un alto nivel de grado de lectura, varían en su usabilidad y omiten detalles importantes sobre la recuperación postoperatoria. Consulte Video Resumen en http://links.lww.com/DCR/B535.

EurOP2E - the European Open Platform for Prescribing Education, a consensus study among clinical pharmacology and therapeutics teachers.

PURPOSE: Sharing and developing digital educational resources and open educational resources has been proposed as a way to harmonize and improve clinical pharmacology and therapeutics (CPT) education in European medical schools. Previous research, however, has shown that there are barriers to the adoption and implementation of open educational resources. The aim of this study was to determine perceived opportunities and barriers to the use and creation of open educational resources among European CPT teachers and possible solutions for these barriers. METHODS: CPT teachers of British and EU medical schools completed an online survey. Opportunities and challenges were identified by thematic analyses and subsequently discussed in an international consensus meeting. RESULTS: Data from 99 CPT teachers from 95 medical schools were analysed. Thirty teachers (30.3%) shared or collaboratively produced digital educational resources. All teachers foresaw opportunities in the more active use of open educational resources, including improving the quality of their teaching. The challenges reported were language barriers, local differences, lack of time, technological issues, difficulties with quality management, and copyright restrictions. Practical solutions for these challenges were discussed and include a peer review system, clear indexing, and use of copyright licenses that permit adaptation of resources. CONCLUSION: Key challenges to making greater use of CPT open educational resources are a limited applicability of such resources due to language and local differences and quality concerns. These challenges may be resolved by relatively simple measures, such as allowing adaptation and translation of resources and a peer review system.

Practical Approach to the Tele-Neuro-Ophthalmology and Neuro-Otology Visits: Instructional Videos.

ABSTRACT: A collection of instructional videos that illustrate a step by step approach to tele-neuro-ophthalmology and neuro-otology visits. These videos provide instruction for patient preparation for their video visit, patient and provider interface with an electronic medical record associated video platform, digital applications to assist with vision testing, and practical advice for detailed remote neuro-ophthalmologic and neuro-otologic examinations.

An educational pathway and teaching materials for first aid training of children in sub-Saharan Africa based on the best available evidence.

BACKGROUND: First aid training is a cost-effective way to decrease the burden of disease and injury in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Since evidence from Western countries has shown that children are able to learn first aid, first aid training of children in LMIC may be a promising way forward. Hence, our project aim was to develop contextualized materials to train sub-Saharan African children in first aid, based on the best available evidence. METHODS: Systematic literature searches were conducted to identify studies on first aid education to children up to 18 years old (research question one), and studies investigating different teaching approaches (broader than first aid) in LMIC (research question two). A multidisciplinary expert panel translated the evidence to the context of sub-Saharan Africa, and evidence and expert input were used to develop teaching materials. RESULTS: For question one, we identified 58 studies, measuring the effect of training children in resuscitation, first aid for skin wounds, poisoning etc. For question two, two systematic reviews were included from which we selected 36 studies, revealing the effectiveness of several pedagogical methods, such as problem-solving instruction and small-group instruction. However, the certainty of the evidence was low to very low. Hence expert input was necessary to formulate training objectives and age ranges based on "good practice" whenever the quantity or quality of the evidence was limited. The experts also placed the available evidence against the African context. CONCLUSIONS: The above approach resulted in an educational pathway (i.e. a scheme with educational goals concerning first aid for different age groups), a list of recommended educational approaches, and first aid teaching materials for children, based on the best available evidence and adapted to the African context.

Readability Assessment of Online Uveitis Patient Education Materials.

Purpose: To evaluate the readability of online uveitis patient education materials. Methods: A Google search in November 2016 was completed using search term "uveitis" and "uveitis inflammation." The top 50 websites with patient-centered information were selected and analyzed for readability using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES), Gunning FOG Index (GFI), and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG). Statistical analysis was performed with two-tailed t-tests. Results: The mean word count of the top 50 websites was 1162.7 words, and averaged 16.2 words per sentence. For these websites, the mean FRES was 38.0 (range 4-66, SD = 12.0), mean FKGL was 12.3 (range 6.8-19, SD = 2.4), mean SMOG score was 14.4 (range 9.8-19, SD = 1.8), and the mean Gunning FOG index was 14.0 (range 8.6-19, SD = 2.0). Conclusions: The majority of online patient directed uveitis materials are at a higher reading level than that of the average American adult.

[Designing and evaluating therapeutic education tools for people living with HIV]. / Concevoir et évaluer des outils d'éducation thérapeutique pour les personnes vivant avec le VIH.

In the context of therapeutic education for people living with HIV in Africa, educational tools must be adapted to their living environment. OBJECTIVES: To describe the process of designing education tools for patients living with HIV and evaluate their use by African caregivers-educators. METHODS: An eight-step participatory and formative process was carried out to design educational tools. Twenty-one caregivers-educators from nine French-speaking African countries in three focus groups were interviewed on the way in which they used these tools. RESULTS: Fourteen people were trained in the process of designing the tools and training caregivers-educators in their use. Two toolkits were developed (adults and children/adolescents). The image folder was the tool most commonly used. Educators in all countries used tools to address self-care and psychosocial coping skills. The criteria for choosing the tools were linked to their attractiveness, ease of use, their adaptation to the patient's needs and characteristics, and the degree of mastery by the caregiver-educator. The tools helped to structure the education sessions. Brakes to their use were organizational and lack of experience or mastery. CONCLUSION: The participatory and formative approach enabled educators working with patients living with HIV in French-speaking Africa to appropriate the tools. Training was a crucial step in enabling caregiver-educators to master and disseminate the tools, and design new tools.

Prostate Cancer Information Available in Health-Care Provider Offices: An Analysis of Content, Readability, and Cultural Sensitivity.

Prostate cancer (PrCA) is the most common cancer affecting men in the United States, and African American men have the highest incidence among men in the United States. Little is known about the PrCA-related educational materials being provided to patients in health-care settings. Content, readability, and cultural sensitivity of materials available in providers' practices in South Carolina were examined. A total of 44 educational materials about PrCA and associated sexual dysfunction was collected from 16 general and specialty practices. The content of the materials was coded, and cultural sensitivity was assessed using the Cultural Sensitivity Assessment Tool. Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, and the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook were used to assess readability. Communication with health-care providers (52.3%), side effects of PrCA treatment (40.9%), sexual dysfunction and its treatment (38.6%), and treatment options (34.1%) were frequently presented. All materials had acceptable cultural sensitivity scores; however, 2.3% and 15.9% of materials demonstrated unacceptable cultural sensitivity regarding format and visual messages, respectively. Readability of the materials varied. More than half of the materials were written above a high-school reading level. PrCA-related materials available in health-care practices may not meet patients' needs regarding content, cultural sensitivity, and readability. A wide range of educational materials that address various aspects of PrCA, including treatment options and side effects, should be presented in plain language and be culturally sensitive.

Ambiente de aprendizagem: o espaço escolar da educação profissional técnica de nível médio em enfermagem / Learning environment: the school area of professional education in nursing technicians / Ambiente de aprendizaje: el entorno escolar en la educación profesional técnica en enfermería

Objetivo: caracterizar o espaço escolar e a infraestrututura das escolas de educação de nível médio em enfermagem. Método: estudo descritivo, projeto aprovado pelo protocolo CAAE: 01433012.8.0000.5393, realizado em quatro escolas do estado de São Paulo, cujos dados foram coletados entre agosto/outubro de 2012 por observação não participante e questionário, respondido por quatro coordenadores e analisados a partir do referencial consultado. Resultados: três escolas são privadas, com 766 alunos matriculados e uma é pública, com 53; a infraestrutura de três é adaptada para a função escolar. Conforto ambiental e higiene são considerados. Possuem equipamentos de multimídia. Os laboratórios de enfermagem têm espaço reduzido, os materiais e manequins para simulações são obsoletos, bibliotecas têm acervos reduzidos e desatualizados, inexistem videotecas, laboratórios de anatomia e fisiologia. Conclusão: a infraestrutura e espaço educativo, na maioria das escolas, são improvisados, não atendem ao mínimo requerido, o que possivelmente poderá sacrificar a qualidade do perfil profissional a ser formado.

Objective: to characterize teaching space and infrastructure of middle schools providing vocational education to nursing technicians. Method: this descriptive study (research ethics approval protocol CAAE: 01433012.8.0000.5393) was conducted at four schools in São Paulo State, where data were collected, between August and October 2012, by non-participant observation and a questionnaire answered by four coordinators, and analyzed against a frame of reference. Results: three schools were private (766 students enrolled) and one was public (53 students); at three, infrastructure was adapted to the school function. Environmental comfort and hygiene were contemplated. They had multimedia equipment. Nursing laboratories had limited space, materials and mannequins for simulations were outdated, libraries collections were small and outdated, and there were no video libraries or anatomy and physiology laboratories. Conclusion: at most of the schools, infrastructure and teaching space were improvised and did not meet minimum requirements, which may possibly sacrifice quality in the profile of professional to be trained.

Objetivo: caracterizar el entorno escolar y la infraestructura de escuelas técnicas en enfermería. Método: estudio descriptivo. Protocolo CAAE: 01433012.8.0000.5393. Se llevó a cabo en cuatro escuelas en el estado de São Paulo, cuyos datos fueron recolectados entre agosto/ octubre de 2012 por la observación no participante y el cuestionario, contestado por los cuatro coordinadores y se analizaron mediante la consulta de referencia. Resultados: tres escuelas son privadas, con 766 alumnos matriculados y el público tiene 53; la infraestructura de los tres está adaptada para la función de la escuela. El confort ambiental y la higiene son considerados. Tienen equipos multimedia. Laboratorios de enfermería tienen un espacio limitado, son materiales obsoletos y maniquíes para las simulaciones, las bibliotecas han reducido y las colecciones obsoletas, no existen laboratorios videotecas, anatomía y fisiología. Conclusión: la infraestructura y el espacio educativo en la mayoría de las escuelas se improvisan no cumple con el mínimo requerido, lo que podría sacrificar la calidad del perfil profesional a formar.

Oral Chemotherapy Education: Using Innovation to Ensure Broad Access.

The purpose of this article is to share one institution's intervention to improve oral chemotherapy patient education. The overall aim was to provide clinicians with a single source of educational materials that would meet a diverse group of patients' educational needs and be consistent with published guidelines.
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An interactive, multi-modal Anatomy workshop improves academic performance in the health sciences: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Students often strategically adopt surface approaches to learning anatomy in order to pass this necessarily content-heavy subject. The consequence of this approach, without understanding and contextualisation, limits transfer of anatomical knowledge to clinical applications. Encouraging deep approaches to learning is challenging in the current environment of lectures and laboratory-based practica. A novel interactive anatomy workshop was proposed in an attempt to address this issue. METHODS: This workshop comprised of body painting, clay modelling, white-boarding and quizzes, and was undertaken by 66 health science students utilising their preferred learning styles. Performance was measured prior to the workshop at the mid-semester examination and after the workshop at the end-semester examination. Differences between mid- and end-semester performances were calculated and compared between workshop attendees and non-attendees. Baseline, post-workshop and follow-up surveys were administered to identify learning styles, goals for attendance, useful aspects of the workshop and self-confidence ratings. RESULTS: Workshop attendees significantly improved their performance compared to non-attendees (p = 0.001) despite a difference at baseline (p = 0.05). Increased self-confidence was reported by the attendees (p < 0.001). To optimise their learning, 97% of attendees reported utilising multi-modal learning styles. Five main goals for participating in the workshop included: understanding, strategic engagement, examination preparation, memorisation and increasing self-confidence. All attendees reported achieving these goals. The most useful components of the workshop were body painting and clay modelling. CONCLUSIONS: This interactive workshop improved attendees' examination performance and promoted engaged-enquiry and deeper learning. This tool accommodates varied learning styles and improves self-confidence, which may be a valuable supplement to traditional anatomy teaching.

The virtual classroom and Ebola preparedness.

A hospital in Sierra Leone has collaborated in the development of computer-based training for Ebola management. Clare Sansom reports.

Program Directors' Use and Perceptions of the Online STFM Resource Library: A CERA Report.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The online STFM Resource Library (RL) was launched in 2005 by STFM with a grant from the National Library of Medicine. This study was conducted to assess the RL usage patterns and RL-related perceptions of family medicine program directors (PDs) to guide potential process improvement. METHODS: Questions about the RL were included in a larger omnibus survey conducted by the CAFM Educational Research Alliance (CERA). The sampling frame for the survey was all US family medicine PDs as identified by the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 50.9% (224/440). A total of 170 (75.9%) had previously used the RL. PDs from university-affiliated programs were more likely to have used the RL (92.7% versus 73.7%). Forty percent of respondents reported the RL was easy to use, and 25.3% agreed that the RL is more valuable than other medical education web sites. Respondents who had been PD for less than 5 years reported a greater relative advantage of the RL (31.9% versus 17.9%). Women reported higher relative advantage for the RL than men (34.5% versus 20.5%). CONCLUSIONS: PDs who have used the site report relatively low satisfaction with its ease of use and relative value. Most do not consider it to be more useful than other medical education web sites. Women PDs rate the resource higher than men. The RL is a widely used resource that could be updated to make it easier to use and more valuable to family medicine educators.

The rise of medical training in Portuguese speaking African countries.

BACKGROUND: Medical training has shown to be strategic for strengthening health systems, especially in those countries identified to have critical shortage of human resources for health. In the past few years, several studies have been conducted to characterize and identify major challenges faced by medical schools worldwide, and particularly in Africa. Nevertheless, none has previously addressed medical training issues in Portuguese Speaking African Countries (PSAC). The aim of this study was to establish baseline knowledge of the PSAC's medical schools in terms of creation and ownership, programmes offered, applicants and registered students, barriers to increased intake of students, teaching workforce and available resources. METHODS: A quantitative, observational, multicentric, cross-sectional study of all medical schools active in 2012 in the PSAC. An adapted version of the questionnaires developed by Chen et al. (2012) was sent to all medical schools electronically. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: A total of nine medical schools answered the questionnaire (three from Angola, two from Guinea Bissau and four from Mozambique). Since 2006 an effort has been made to increase the number of medical trainees. Besides the medical degree offered by all schools, some offered other undergraduate and postgraduate training programmes. The number of applicants to medical schools largely outnumbers the available vacancies in all countries but insufficient infrastructures and lack of teaching personnel are important constraints to increase vacancies. The teaching personnel are mainly trained abroad, employed part-time by the medical school and do not have a PhD qualification. CONCLUSION: Governments in the PSAC have significantly invested in training to address medical shortages. However, medical schools are still struggling to give an adequate and effective response. Developing a local postgraduate training capacity for doctors might be an important strategy to help retain medical doctors in the home country and develop local faculty capacity.

Improving the readability of online foot and ankle patient education materials.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown the need for improving the readability of many patient education materials to increase patient comprehension. This study's purpose was to determine the readability of foot and ankle patient education materials and to determine the extent readability can be improved. We hypothesized that the reading levels would be above the recommended guidelines and that decreasing the sentence length would also decrease the reading level of these patient educational materials. METHODS: Patient education materials from online public sources were collected. The readability of these articles was assessed by a readability software program. The detailed instructions provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were then used as a guideline for performing edits to help improve the readability of selected articles. The most quantitative guideline, lowering all sentences to less than 15 words, was chosen to show the effect of following the NIH recommendations. RESULTS: The reading levels of the sampled articles were above the sixth to seventh grade recommendations of the NIH. The MedlinePlus website, which is a part of the NIH website, had the lowest reading level (8.1). The articles edited had an average reduction of 1.41 grade levels, with the lowest reduction in the Medline articles of 0.65. CONCLUSION: Providing detailed instructions to the authors writing these patient education articles and implementing editing techniques based on previous recommendations could lead to an improvement in the readability of patient education materials. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study provides authors of patient education materials with simple editing techniques that will allow for the improvement in the readability of online patient educational materials. The improvement in readability will provide patients with more comprehendible education materials that can strengthen patient awareness of medical problems and treatments.

Impact of educational video on critical congenital heart disease screening.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the status of pulse oximetry screening and barriers to implementing screening programs. METHODS: This was a prospective pre-post intervention survey of nurse managers and medical directors of hospital-based birthing centers in Oregon, Idaho, and Southern Washington. The intervention was a 7-minute video demonstrating and discussing pulse oximetry screening for critical congenital heart disease. RESULTS: Analysis of matched pairs showed a significant increase in the use of pulse oximetry screening during the study period from 52% to 73% (P < .0001). Following implementation of the video, the perception of all queried potential barriers decreased significantly among individuals from hospitals self-identified as nonscreening at baseline. Viewing the educational video was associated with an increase in the percentage of individuals from nonscreening hospitals that rated screening as "very beneficial" (45% vs 90%, P = .0001). CONCLUSIONS: An educational video was associated with improved opinions of pulse oximetry screening among hospitals not currently screening.

Sharing teaching and learning resources: perceptions of a university's faculty members.

OBJECTIVES: Improving efficiencies in the education sector via the sharing of resources is currently the source of much interest and investment within Australia and throughout the world. Despite the development of multiple educational resource repositories worldwide, educators seldom use repositories to share materials. Interprofessional sharing is similarly scarce. This research was designed to identify staff perceptions about inter-departmental sharing of teaching and learning resources within a university faculty. METHODS: Representatives were recruited over a 2-week period from four campuses of a university, spanning six departments. Participants took part in two focus groups and six semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis was undertaken by two independent researchers. RESULTS: Five key themes emerged: the benefits of electronic resources for improving student education; perceptions of sharing; perceptions of ownership; the ethical use of resources and digital repositories; the requirements for adoption. CONCLUSIONS: Our research confirms that educators believe interprofessional resource sharing to be beneficial and appropriate. However, concerns that resources are of insufficient quality or will be incorrectly attributed surfaced as barriers to sharing. Poor understanding and ambiguity surrounding intellectual property rights highlighted the need for repository communities to be sufficiently educated. Developing a commonly agreed metadata and labelling system, and linking with existing infrastructure, will enhance the impact of a learning object repository. Providing avenues for sharing, such as resource repositories, may assist in aligning education with the well-established process of peer review utilised by the research community, improving resource quality through exposure to others' perspectives and feedback. Furthermore, the increased accountability, restriction and familiarity of repositories may prove beneficial in encouraging sharing.