NCT03241693

Blended-learning in Physiotherapy: Professional Ethics

Effect of a Blended-learning Programme on Physiotherapy Students´ Attitude, Knowledge and Opinions Towards Learning Professional Ethics.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 130 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Valencia · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: —
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of a blended-learning model on physiotherapy students´ attitude, knowledge and opinions towards learning professional ethics. A simple-blind clinical trial was performed. An eight-month blended learning program to teach professional ethics in clinical practices was worked out. An online syllabus and online activities were elaborated, whilst face to face active participation techniques were performed to discuss ethical issues detected among practices. Students´ attitudes, knowledge and opinions towards learning professional ethics were assessed. Non-parametric tests were carried out. All the participants were informed about the study and procedures, and provided written informed consent.

Detailed description

Participants. 139 third-year degree students of Physiotherapy Degree at the University, aged between 20 and 30 years, were recruited voluntarily from September 2010 to July 2011. All enrolled participants were informed of the purpose of the study and procedures, and provided written informed consent. The study was carried out at the institution where the authors belong. Research design. A prospective simple-blind trial was performed. After baseline assessment, participants were allocated to one of the two groups (control group, n=65; experimental group, n=64). An external assistant not involved in the study performed assignment. Intervention. A Physiotherapy professor with over-10-year experience in Ethics and Physiotherapy performed the teaching methodology. She opened the allocation envelopes and applied the teaching methodology to the EG according to the group assignment. The intervention consisted of an eight-month blended-learning program based in professional ethics, including two phases: A) online syllabus and online activities (4 months); and B) face to face group sessions (4 months).

Conditions

• Ethics
• Attitude
• Knowledge

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	blended-learning in ethics	Experimental group followed clinical practices in hospital centers during 8 months. In addition, an online specific syllabus about Professional Ethics was developed. It consisted of 6 themes and included topics as moral values, ethics and moral, bioethics and professional ethics, ecc. Six online related activities were created: to solve situations related to real clinical practices. Six face to face group sessions based on cooperative learning were planned in order to discuss ethical issues detected among clinical practices during 4 months. Students were divided in small groups, 4-5 participants each, and active participation techniques were used.
OTHER	control group	Control group followed clinical practices in hospital centers during 8 months as usual. In the control group, case study method was also used, thus students in control group had to create and perform a public exposition of a real clinical case about professional ethics. Cases had to be related to clinical practices in order to recognize ethical situations in the work environment. Neither online learning nor online activities were carried out.

Timeline

• Start date: 2010-09-01
• Primary completion: 2011-02-01
• Completion: 2011-06-01
• First posted: 2017-08-07
• Last updated: 2023-05-11