TY - JOUR
T1 - A snapshot of primary care physicians educational needs regarding COPD in crete, greece
T2 - An exploratory case study
AU - Kakoliris, Nikolaos I.
AU - Symvoulakis, Emmanouil K.
AU - Antoniou, Katerina M.
AU - Grammatikopoulos, Ilias
AU - Tzanakis, Nikolaos
AU - Siafakas, Nikolaos M.
AU - Lionis, Christos
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Aim: Misdiagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in primary health care appears to be common. The objective of this exploratory case study was to describe the selfreported level of knowledge regarding COPD among primary healthcare physicians, before and after a two day intensive educational course. Method: Nine primary health care physicians, eight serving different rural areas of the island of Crete and one in the wider area of Athens (Greece), were invited to a two day educational course on COPD. Questionnaires were used to stratify the level of physicians' knowledge before and after the course. Utility and suitability of this educational experience was also assessed at the end of the course. Results: Topics such as the ability to perform spirometry and the management of smokers in primary care achieved the greater median score variation before and after course [from 2.0 to 5.0 (P=0.010) and from 3.0 to 6.0 (P=0.011), respectively]. There was a statistical significant difference between the median scores in pre- and post-course responses indicating an immediate positive impact due to the course. Conclusion: These preliminary results showed that a brief and intensive educational course among primary health care physicians, could have a benefit in improving their level of knowledge regarding COPD.
AB - Aim: Misdiagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in primary health care appears to be common. The objective of this exploratory case study was to describe the selfreported level of knowledge regarding COPD among primary healthcare physicians, before and after a two day intensive educational course. Method: Nine primary health care physicians, eight serving different rural areas of the island of Crete and one in the wider area of Athens (Greece), were invited to a two day educational course on COPD. Questionnaires were used to stratify the level of physicians' knowledge before and after the course. Utility and suitability of this educational experience was also assessed at the end of the course. Results: Topics such as the ability to perform spirometry and the management of smokers in primary care achieved the greater median score variation before and after course [from 2.0 to 5.0 (P=0.010) and from 3.0 to 6.0 (P=0.011), respectively]. There was a statistical significant difference between the median scores in pre- and post-course responses indicating an immediate positive impact due to the course. Conclusion: These preliminary results showed that a brief and intensive educational course among primary health care physicians, could have a benefit in improving their level of knowledge regarding COPD.
KW - COPD
KW - Education
KW - Exploration
KW - Primary care
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84859744610&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84859744610
SN - 1840-2291
VL - 6
SP - 781
EP - 786
JO - HealthMED
JF - HealthMED
IS - 3
ER -