Acceptability and feasibility of a virtual community of practice to primary care professionals regarding patient empowerment: a qualitative pilot study.
BMC Health Serv Res
; 19(1): 403, 2019 Jun 20.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31221215
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Virtual communities of practice (vCoPs) facilitate online learning via the exchange of experiences and knowledge between interested participants. Compared to other communities, vCoPs need to overcome technological structures and specific barriers. Our objective was to pilot the acceptability and feasibility of a vCoP aimed at improving the attitudes of primary care professionals to the empowerment of patients with chronic conditions.METHODS:
We used a qualitative approach based on 2 focus groups one composed of 6 general practitioners and the other of 6 practice nurses. Discussion guidelines on the topics to be investigated were provided to the moderator. Sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was performed using the ATLAS-ti software.RESULTS:
The available operating systems and browsers and the lack of suitable spaces and time were reported as the main difficulties with the vCoP. The vCoP was perceived to be a flexible learning mode that provided up-to-date resources applicable to routine practice and offered a space for the exchange of experiences and approaches.CONCLUSIONS:
The results from this pilot study show that the vCoP was considered useful for learning how to empower patients. However, while vCoPs have the potential to facilitate learning and as shown create professional awareness regarding patient empowerment, attention needs to be paid to technological and access issues and the time demands on professionals. We collected relevant inputs to improve the features, content and educational methods to be included in further vCoP implementation. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT02757781 . Registered on 25 April 2016.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Primary Health Care
/
Attitude of Health Personnel
/
Education, Distance
/
General Practitioners
/
Nurses
Type of study:
Guideline
/
Qualitative_research
Aspects:
Patient_preference
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
En
Journal:
BMC Health Serv Res
Journal subject:
PESQUISA EM SERVICOS DE SAUDE
Year:
2019
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Spain