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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Experimental Pharmacology and Drug Discovery
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1380954
This article is part of the Research Topic Education and training in pharmaceutical medicine, medicines development and regulation for scientists worldwide View all 6 articles

E-Learning Pills on Immunotherapy in Urothelial Carcinoma: the E-PIMUC Program for Continuing Medical Education

Provisionally accepted
Olga Romero-Clarà Olga Romero-Clarà 1*Clara Madrid Clara Madrid 1Juan Carlos Pardo Juan Carlos Pardo 1*Vicenç Ruiz De Porras Vicenç Ruiz De Porras 2Olatz Etxaniz Olatz Etxaniz 1*Deborah Moreno-Alonso Deborah Moreno-Alonso 1*Albert Font Albert Font 1*
  • 1 Catalan Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
  • 2 Germans Trias i Pujol Health Science Research Institute (IGTP), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The high incidence and mortality rates of urothelial carcinoma mean it remains a significant global health concern. Its prevalence is notably pronounced in industrialized countries, with Spain registering one of the highest incidences in Europe. Treatment options are available for various stages of bladder cancer. Moreover, the management landscape for this disease has been significantly transformed by the rapid advances in immunotherapy. Healthcare professionals who diagnose, treat, and follow up with bladder cancer patients need comprehensive training to incorporate these advances into their clinical practice. To bridge these knowledge gaps, we set up the E-PIMUC program to educate healthcare professionals on bladder cancer management and specifically immunotherapy.Methods: E-PIMUC used an innovative microlearning methodology comprising bitesize learning pills that support efficient acquisition of specialized expertise. We used a mixed methods, quantitative and qualitative approach to assess the success of the E-PIMUC program. Data collection encompassed prepost testing, participation metrics, satisfaction surveys, and self-perceived performance assessments.Results: A total of 751 healthcare professionals enrolled in the program. Of these, 81.0% actively engaged with the content and 33.2% passed all tests and were awarded the course certificate and professional credits. The course received satisfaction ratings of 94.3% to 95.1% and significantly improved the declarative knowledge of participants who had a range of professional profiles (p<0.001). Participants reported increased confidence in applying immunotherapy principles in their practice (average improvement of 1.4 points). Open-ended responses also underscored participants' perceived benefits, including expanded knowledge and enhanced patient interaction skills.The E-PIMUC program provided effective, comprehensive, cutting-edge training on bladder cancer management, particularly on the use of immunotherapy in this area of oncology. The high participation rates, positive satisfaction scores, substantial knowledge enhancement, and improved self-perceived performance, are all testament to the program's success. E-PIMUC was endorsed by regulatory bodies as a trusted educational resource in urothelial carcinoma management. What is more, complementary initiatives brought together patients and medical experts to foster a holistic, patient-centered approach to the complexities of bladder cancer care.

    Keywords: urothelial carcinoma, Bladder cancer, Immunotherapy, healthcare professionals, Continuing medical education, Microlearning, e-learning pills

    Received: 02 Feb 2024; Accepted: 12 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Romero-Clarà, Madrid, Pardo, Ruiz De Porras, Etxaniz, Moreno-Alonso and Font. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Olga Romero-Clarà, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, 08908, Catalonia, Spain
    Juan Carlos Pardo, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, 08908, Catalonia, Spain
    Olatz Etxaniz, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, 08908, Catalonia, Spain
    Deborah Moreno-Alonso, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, 08908, Catalonia, Spain
    Albert Font, Catalan Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, 08908, Catalonia, Spain

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.