1. Correspondence: Josip.car@ntu.edu.sg
Standards for Reporting of Digital Health Education Intervention Trials (STEDI) statement: an extension of the CONSORT initiative POSADZKI PP, SEMWAL M, CAR J.
Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Correspondence:
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INTRODUCTION
Digital health education (DHE) is an umbrella term encompassing a broad spectrum of educational interventions characterised by their technological contents, learning objectives/outcomes, measurement tools, learning approaches and delivery settings. These interventions, although varying greatly in content and quality, are widely evaluated in randomised controlled trials (RCTs).
RESULTS
A random sample of 50 RCTs published between Q1-Q3 of 2017 was selected
80% evaluated doctors and 20% allied health professionals
RATIONALE
To the best of our knowledge, there are no guidelines outlining the key reporting items for studies on digital health educational interventions for healthcare professionals (HCPs).
OBJECTIVES
Develop STEDI checklist for RCTs of HCPs and patients + extend the CONSORT guideline
52% studies involved under-graduates and the remaining 48% post-graduates
There were 40 information items and 16 separate domains
Only 2 items had very high reporting frequency (>90%)
13 items had very low reporting frequency (<20%):
availability of infrastructure,
theoretical underpinning,
cost evaluation, fidelity, adaptability,
adverse effects and others.
METHODS
Step 1
A systematic review of the literature
Step 2
A Delphi study
Step 3
Pilot testing of the STEDI statement and accompanying explanation & elaboration paper
CONCLUSIONS
The quality of reporting in existing RCTs on DHE for health professionals and patients is poor. This in turn impedes development of DHE research. The standardised reporting of DHE research will help advance the field and guide future researchers, funders and publishers.
REFERENCES
Moher D, Weeks L, Ocampo M, Seely D, Sampson M, Altman DG et al. Describing reporting guidelines for health research: a systematic review. J Clin Epidemiol. 2011;64:
Moher D, Schulz KF, Simera I, Altman DG. Guidance for developers of health research reporting guidelines. PLoS Med 2010;7:e
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research is supported by the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore eLearning grant.