| Popis: |
Background Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is under-recognized and often undertreated in clinical practice. There are few resources to support clinicians in the recognition and treatment of PBA symptoms, despite the approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration of a PBA-specific treatment. We evaluated the impact of a virtual education symposium on clinician knowledge and competence designed to improve knowledge and skills associated with identifying and managing PBA in patients with neurologic injury. Methods We designed a mixed methods outcomes methodology that included survey-based methods and qualitative interviews to measure trends in knowledge and competence. We measured changes in knowledge and competence via pre- and post-test online surveys that included case-based competence questions and knowledge-focused questions. McNemar test compared matched pair responses. Effect size was computed using Cohen’s d for all significant findings. Significance testing was conducted for matched pairs of learners who completed both pre/post and pre/survey, respectively. We explored the impact of the educational intervention on clinician knowledge, competency, and perspectives on PBA via qualitative interviews with a subsample of education participants. We used a process of constant comparison to structure analysis of participant responses to questions both across and within interviews. Results Participants’ PBA symptom recognition knowledge and skills increased following program participation and were maintained at follow-up. Responses to post-activity case-based questions showed that exposure to education enabled participants to better recognize and describe symptoms redolent of PBA. Following education, most participants said they would initiate therapy with on-label versus off-label medications. Qualitative descriptions of what interviewees say they would do in clinical practice were reflected in actual responses to knowledge and competence questions. Conclusions This mixed-method study demonstrates that online education is an effective and accessible tool for building knowledge and supporting clinical competence concerning PBA symptom recognition and management. |
