An Evaluation of the Impact of a Continuing Education Course in Diabetes

Abstract

This article represents the results of an evaluation of a continuing education program for dietitians. The evaluation was built into the program at its inception and involved an assessment of participant satisfaction, short-term knowledge gain and a follow-up assessment of self-reported behavior change. The results of this evaluation indicate that the course did, indeed, impact on both knowledge and behavior. In addition, however, the evaluation also uncovered some problems in planning which minimized the potential impact of this course. These results suggest that there should be increased attention to rigorous educational needs assessment and both process and impact program evaluations in order to determine approaches to education that could make more effective use of the resources availablefor continuing education in health care.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

BONEAU, C. (1972) "A note on measurement scales and statistical tests," in R. Kirk (ed.) Statistical Issues: A Reader for the Behavioral Sciences. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

BROWN, C. (1976) "The continuing education component (change cycle) of the bicycle approach to quality assurance." Presented at the Conference on the Relationship of Continuing Medical Education to the Quality of Medical Care, June 11-12, Boston.

DIXON, J. (1978) "Evaluation criteria in studies of continuing education in the health professions: a critical review and suggested strategy." Evaluation & the Health Professions 1, 2: 47-65.

FROELOCK, R. E. et al. (1966) "An intensive two-day teaching program in ophthalmology." J. of Medical Education 41: 237-243.

GEBHARDT, M. (1980) "Health education evaluation: an alternative research paradigm." Evaluation & the Health Professions 3, 2: 205-210.

GREENBURG, A. G. et al. (1977) "Surgical continuing medical education: format and impact." Surgery 81, 6: 708-715.

GUTTENTAG, M. (1971) "Models and methods in evaluation research." J. for the Theory of Social Behavior (April).

HAYES, W. (1973) Statistics for the Social Sciences. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

LADUCA, A. (1980) "The structure of competence in health professions." Evaluation & the Health Professions 3, 3: 253-288.

10.

LEVINE, S. (1978) "Evaluating the evaluators of continuing medical education programs," in R. H. Egdhal and P. M. Gertman (eds.) Quality Health Care. Germantown, MD: Aspen Systems.

11.

LLOYD, J. S. and S. ABRAHAMSON (1979) "Effectiveness of continuing medical education: a review of the evidence." Evaluation & the Health Professions 2, 3: 251-280.

12.

McGUIRE, C. et al (1964) "Ausculatory skill: gain and retention after intensive instruction." J. of Medical Education 39: 120-131.

13.

NITSUNAGA, B. and L. SHORES (1977) "Evaluation in continuing education: is it practical?" J. of Continuing Education 8, 6: 7-15.

14.

PETERSEN, C. B. (1980) Nutrition Needs Assessment Survey. Education and Evaluation Core, Joslin Diabetes Research and Training Center, Boston, MA. (unpublished)

15.

VALENCIRES, J. (1980) "Impact of a continuing education program in nursing: part I-results affecting patient care." J. of Continuing Education in Nursing 11, 2-2.

16.

WHITE, C. et al. (1977) Efficacy of Traditional Continuing Medical Education in Changing Physician Knowledge and Behavior in the Care of Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction. Department of Medicine, University of Iowa City.