Impact of Three Continuing Education Meetings for Community Pharmacists on Weight Management

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This study is a three-arm randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of 1-day continuing educational meetings for community pharmacists with three distinct educational methods: 1) Didactic lecture 2) Didactic lecture plus case discussion in a large group 3) Didactic lecture plus small group education with simulated patient Knowledge and attitude of the participants would be measured as the study outcome in three periods: pre-education, post-education and 1 month after the meetings.

Detailed Description
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The study is designed as an Instructor blinded-Randomized Controlled Trial. An educational need assessment is undergone prior to educational content preparation by interviewing 5 community pharmacists. After educational content preparation by instructors, the outcome assessment tool (knowledge, attitude questionnaire) would be designed by a distinct investigator. Closed and Open-ended questions are included to investigate different levels of Bloom's taxonomy. The questionnaire would be validated by specialists other than the instructors and it will piloted to investigate the reliability( Cronbach's Alfa > 0.7). Community pharmacists of Tehran,Capital city of Iran, would be invited to participate in the study. The participants would be randomly assigned to 3 groups by random number table. Each group receives the same education content with a different method: Didactic lecture Didactic lecture plus case discussion in a large group Didactic lecture plus small group education with simulated patient(SP). Interviewing with SP is conducted by small group facilitators with Brain Storming Technic. Each participant receives a compact disk which includes the educational material and he/she would be able to contact the instructors by phone or e-mail during the follow-up period. (Reinforcement Phase)

Official Title
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Evaluation of Three 1-day Educational Intervention to Promote Knowledge and Attitude of Community Pharmacists About Evidence-based Weight Management

Conditions
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Continuing Pharmacy Education, Obesity

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Didactic Lecture
* Other: Interactive Lecture
* Other: Lecture plus Small Group Education


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Community Pharmacist Exclusion Criteria: Less than four hours of daily work in community pharmacy

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 25 Years
Maximum Age: 65 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Didactic Lecture<br> | Other: Didactic Lecture<br>* 2 sessions of didactic lecture with PowerPoint presentations each delivered by a special lecturer. whole education period lasts 3 hours.<br>|
| Experimental: Lecture plus Case Disscussion<br> | Other: Interactive Lecture<br>* 2 sessions of brief interactive lectures followed by case discussion sections.<br>|
| Experimental: Lecture plus Small Group Education<br> | Other: Lecture plus Small Group Education<br>* A 1.5 hours session of didactic lecture followed by a session of small group education with 3 simulated patients.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Knowledge Grade Points and Attitudes(Phase 1) | Obtained through a validated knowledge and attitude questionnaire. | One day | 
| Knowledge Grade Points and Attitudes(Phase 2) | Obtained through a validated knowledge and attitude questionnaire. | One month(average of 4 weeks after the day of training) | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Satisfaction of Participants | Obtained by a Satisfaction Evaluation Questionnaire. | One day |