Purpose: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of worldwide childhood blindness with increasing incidence in low and middle income countries (LMICs) due to advances in neonatal care. There are insufficient numbers of healthcare professionals specialized in ROP management and few local training opportunities in LMICs. Social media platforms provide a promising solution to enable interactive medical education across geographic and logistic barriers. As an adjunct to an ROP training program for ophthalmologists in Armenia, we implemented a Facebook Virtual Examination Room (VER) for case discussion with a global community of collaborators and preceptors. To evaluate training through VER, we operationalized engagement as a multilayer meta-construct that includes cognitive, behavioral, and social-emotional domains.

Methods: A concurrent mixed methods approach was taken to collect and analyze data from comments and activities within VER. Quantitative data was analyzed for descriptive statistics on group utilization, participant activity, and clinical metrics. Qualitative data was analyzed by conducting thematic analysis involving initial and pattern coding.

Results: Ten participants (7 trainees and 3 preceptors) interacted in the Facebook group across 153 unique cases, with 218 threads, 414 comments, and 216 likes. Of the 120 unique cases eligible for consensus evaluation, treatment was mentioned most frequently (87), followed by location (68), staging (65), and plus disease (31), with agreement ranging from 67% to 97%. Based on the qualitative analysis, the most common themes of discussion were clinical management, dilemma resolution, knowledge growth, and gratitude.

Conclusion: A closed Facebook group for case-based discussions can be a useful adjunct to an existing ROP training program by engaging learners across social-emotional, behavioral, and cognitive domains. For international training partnerships, the financial and logistical advantages can be significant, though focus should remain on the primary curriculum and training modality.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9332928PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OPTH.S371360DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

rop training
12
facebook virtual
8
virtual examination
8
examination room
8
training program
8
data analyzed
8
facebook group
8
unique cases
8
training
7
rop
5

Similar Publications

Article Synopsis
  • The study compared the readability of patient education materials from the Turkish Ophthalmological Association (TOA) on retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) with those generated by large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4.0, GPT-4o mini, and Gemini.
  • The TOA materials were found to exceed the recommended 6th-grade reading level, while GPT-4.0 and Gemini provided significantly clearer responses.
  • GPT-4.0 stood out for its superior accuracy and comprehensiveness in generating understandable patient education materials, but caution is needed regarding regional medical differences when applying LLMs in healthcare.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background/aim: In Türkiye, the recommendations for screening for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) were updated in 2021. We aimed to present detailed data on the infants included in the screening program according to the new criteria and evaluate whether these changes are of benefit in detecting severe ROP.

Materials And Methods: Our hospital's medical records of infants screened for ROP between July 2019 and July 2021 or between August 2021 and August 2023 were retrospectively examined.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Our current prospective cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the effect of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs used in the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity on retinal maturation and persistent avascular retina (PAR). Retinal imaging was performed with Optos confocal laser ophthalmoscopy for 100 patients aged 4 to 8 years who were screened and treated for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) during the neonatal period. The ROP examination findings (stage and zone) and treatment history (age in weeks at time of treatment and anti-VEGF drug used) from the neonatal period were reviewed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To determine the safety, tolerance, and adherence to self-administered intravaginal 5% fluorouracil (5FU) cream as adjuvant therapy following cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or 3 (CIN2/3) treatment among women living with HIV (WLWH) in Kenya.

Methods: A phase I pilot trial was performed among 12 WLWH in Kenya, aged 18-49 years between March 2023 and February 2024 (ClinicalTrial.gov NCT05362955).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Estimating the rate of penetration (ROP) is one of most critical tasks for evaluating the efficiency and profitability of drilling operation, which will aim in decision-making related to well planning, time estimation, cost estimation, bit selection, operational troubles, and logistics in drilling operation. The rise in unconventional resource development underscores the need for accurate ROP prediction to optimize drilling operations in these valuable reserves. ROP prediction and optimization in unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs are challenging due to the formations' heterogeneity, high strength, and brittleness.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!