Using Evidence Integrated e-Learning to Enhance the Case Management Continuing Education for Taiwanese Psychiatric Nurses

Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and effectiveness of an evidence-integrated e-learning to enhance the continuing education of case management for Taiwanese psychiatric nurses

Methods:

The development of the e-learning program was divided into four stages: 1. Identifying current evidence for e learning and case management education through systematic review articles; 2.conducting a national survey and a focus group to confirm the educational needs; 3.developing teaching materials; and 4.performing a preliminary evaluation of the program with 40 nurses to improve the program quality. The e-learning program was integrated current evidence and built through the collaboration of a nurse educator and an informatics professor.

After the completion of the programme development, a randomized controlled trial with 3 times measurement design was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of the e-learning programme .This case management e-learning programme used CDs as the primary teaching material. The digital program consisted of 5 learning modules, self-assessment questions, learning cases, sharing experiences, and learning resources. In-service psychiatric registered nurses were recruited through the website of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurses Association and randomised allocation into either experiemntal or comparison group. The psychiatric nurses in the experimental group participated in an interactive case management e-learning programme, whereas those in the comparison group were provided no intervention. The case management knowledge index with sufficient reliability and validity and a satisfaction survey were used to determine the learning outcomes. A generalized estimating equation was used to assess the difference between the 2 groups regarding the case management knowledge before, after, and 3 months following the psychiatric nurses’ participation in 2012.

Results:

A total of 200 participants completed the 3 measurements. The participants in the experimental group exhibited positive learning perceptions. The knowledge scores of the participants in the experimental group significantly exceeded those of the participants in the comparison group both after the e-learning programme and at the 3-month follow-up.

 

Conclusion:

The case management e-learning programme could be an evidence-based educational resource for nursing continuing education. The results supported the use of e learning to provide a more flexible and effective presentation method for continuing education programs.