Assessment of an online novel interactive education module for teaching rapid sequence intubation: using video laryngoscopy and Google Survey to measure confidence and knowledge acquisition (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Teaching procedural skills via digital platforms is challenging. There is a paucity of literature on the feasibility of implementing an online asynchronous web-based learning (WBL) module for rapid sequence intubation in Emergency Medicine (EM). The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of an online airway management module and investigate knowledge acquisition. Learners completed a pre-test questionnaire prior to reviewing the module to assess their current knowledge. After completion of the online module, another assessment on airway management competency was completed. OBJECTIVE The purpose of our study was to determine the feasibility of implementing an online airway module and investigate knowledge acquisition among learners who completed the module. Additionally, we sought to compare the relationship between pre-module confidence and knowledge between various training levels of those who completed the module. METHODS All responses were collected using Google Survey and data was collected over a period of six months. We performed descriptive statistics for the pre- and post-module. Frequency distribution was used for data summarization and chi-square test was used to assess the difference between variables. RESULTS We received 366 responses in the pre-test and 105 in post-test. Responses were summarized into five categories which assessed knowledge about airway technique, anatomical landmarks, formulas for selecting blade size, tube size, depth of tube, and case-based scenarios. For airway technique, correct responses improved from 54% in the pre-test module to 77% in the post-test category. For anatomical landmarks, 70% to 88%. Case-based scenarios and formulas noted an increase of 30% each, with 36% to 66% in the former and 48% to 78% in the latter. We found a higher level of confidence during intubation existed in learners with more years of training (91% vs 44%, p<0.000). CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate this WBL airway module enabled significant knowledge acquisition, as well as increased confidence when approaching airway management. Overall, every post-test question showed a higher percentage of correct answers when compared to pre-test. This is the first study to demonstrate how a WBL airway module is a feasible method of asynchronous education for healthcare providers in all levels of training.