PHYSICAL THERAPISTS' INTEREST IN COMPUTER-ASSISTED CONTINUING EDUCATION RELATED TO CARDIORESPIRATORY PHYSICAL THERAPY

Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy Journal, Dec 2003 by Reid, W, Mathur, S, Stanton, S, Kelm, C

Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to determine the willingness of physical therapists (PTs) to use computer-assisted learning (CAL) for professional continuing education, identify the determinants of undertaking CAL and identify content areas within cardiorespiratory PT where CAL was a preferred learning method. Number of Subjects: 1426 surveys were mailed to a random sample of 7% of licensed Canadian PTs and all members of two national cardiorespiratory interest groups. 851 surveys were completed in part or entirely. Of the completed surveys returned, 38.9% were from the national cardiorespiratory interest groups and the remaining from the sample of licensed Canadian PTs. Materials/Methods: A four-page survey consisting of 3 parts was mailed to participants and used methods by Dillman (1978) to ensure a high response rate. The survey content inquired about (a) interest in different content areas related to computer assisted learning of cardiorespiratory practice areas, (b) education preferences, and (c) demographics and computer resources. Data were analyzed using Chi-square (X^sup 2^) analysis. Results: Of 1426 surveys, 63% were completed and returned. Overall, 78% of PTs indicated willingness to participate in CAL. 60-65% of respondents from the cardiorespiratory interest groups and 24-41% of the licensed PT sample were interested in taking exercise physiology and level 1 courses in cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, critical care and airway clearance, respectively, and were willing to do at least 75% of the course content via CAL. PTs who were more willing to participate in CAL were more recent graduates (1991 vs. 1988), had computer access at home and work for 35 hours per week, and a primary area of practice in respiratory (p

This study was funded by: Canadian Physiotherapy Cardiorespiratory Society of the Lung Association.

W Reid1, S Mathur1, S Stanton1, C Kelm2. 1School of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, CANADA, 2 School of Physical Therapy, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.