key: cord-0834711-xf0j3ny8
authors: Razai, Mohammad S.; Kankam, Hadyn K. N.; Hourston, George J. M.; Hoppe, Szymon; Oakeshott, Pippa
title: Lessons Learned From Producing Guidance Articles and Rapid Massive Open Online Courses During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Primary Care
date: 2020-10-01
journal: J Prim Care Community Health
DOI: 10.1177/2150132720963624
sha: 9e2ccfd768678bb5eb632448f2316cd12433a895
doc_id: 834711
cord_uid: xf0j3ny8

nan

(Nairobi, Kenya). 6 These courses aimed to provide frontline primary care staff working in a very different environment from the UK with the support they need to manage patients while protecting themselves and their communities.

We were keen to make the courses practical and concise. Each week we presented a variety of learning resources including recently published articles, infographics, audio interviews, quizzes, and frequently asked questions. At the end of each week, there was an opportunity to participate in discussion with fellow learners from around the world. Both MOOCs had over 30 000 learners from 180 countries in their first runs. Overall participants rated the UK and Africa courses 4.7/5 and 4.8/5, respectively. Comments from primary care included: "The course provided clear, logical information presented at a good pace. The resources are excellent. The opportunity to learn from others' experiences and views was enlightening and valuable." "I have learnt a lot and this course gives very practical resources and guidance." "As a community Palliative Care Nurse I found your advice on telephone/video assessments and assessing the breathless patient via a telephone particularly helpful." "This has been a useful and informative course, the resources for asthma and COPD care are excellent." "Very practical, and the links and resources are excellent. Also terrific to hear practitioner perspectives from around the world!" Learning points were presented in an international FutureLearn festival as well as in regional and local virtual forums.

The covid-19 pandemic created a unique situation with the challenges of a new disease with little evidence on epidemiology and appropriate management. However, lessons learned from developing educational technologies and guidance articles can be applied in a variety of settings in primary care education. We learned that the MOOCs afforded the flexibility to change the content, update the learning steps and adapt the material based on both the evolution of the pandemic, and learners' needs and feedback in real-time. We found the MOOCs highly suitable for quick dissemination of knowledge within and beyond the UK. The engagement from learners in virtual discussion groups was particularly useful and was frequently highlighted by participants as an effective way to share tips from around the world.

Another advantage of these courses was the removal of access barriers and the fact that the course was offered free of charge. Provided they had internet, learners could access the information from anywhere in the world. Leading experts in primary care education as well some NHS organizations endorsed the UK MOOC. 5 The main limitations are that although we provided quizzes at the end of each week, there was no mechanism to assess participants' learning, how many completed the course and what practical impact the courses had on knowledge and practice. However, this is not different to some continuous professional development methods that are currently widely used.

Guidelines like those written by Baker and colleagues are important in ensuring safe delivery of care. Additionally, free MOOCs developed by experts provide accessible and interactive learning communities that can augment and, in some cases, replace the traditional methods of primary care education. This technological approach to primary care education is particularly important during the current pandemic where face to face interaction is limited by physical distancing measures.

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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Coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19): a guide for UK GPs

Mitigating the psychological effects of social isolation during the covid-19 pandemic

Managing COVID-19 in primary care

COVID-19 in Africa: managing the outbreak in primary care settings

Mohammad S. Razai https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6671-5557