Web-based learning in inflammatory bowel diseases: General truths and current specifics

Abstract

In a field rapidly evolving over the past few years, the management of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, is becoming increasingly complex, demanding and challenging. In the recent years, IBD quality measures aiming to improve patients’ care have been developed, multiple new medical therapies have been approved, new treatment goals have been set with the “treat-to-target” concept and drug monitoring has been implemented into IBD clinical management. Moreover, patients are increasingly using Internet resources to obtain information about their health conditions. The healthcare professional with an interest in treating IBD patients should deal with all these challenges in everyday practice by establishing, enhancing and maintaining a strong core of knowledge and skills related to IBD. This is an ongoing process and traditionally these needs are covered with additional reading of textbook or journal articles, attendance at meetings or conferences, or at local rounds. Web-based learning resources expand the options for knowledge acquisition and save time and costs as well. In the new era of communications technology, web-based resources can cover the educational needs of both patients and healthcare professionals and can contribute to improvement of disease management and patient care. Healthcare professionals can individually visit and navigate regularly relevant websites and tailor choices for educational activities according to their existing needs. They can also provide their patients with a few certified suitable internet resources. In this review, we explored the Internet using PubMed and Startpage (Google), for web-based IBD-related educational resources aiming to provide a guide for those interested in obtaining certified knowledge in this subject.

Keywords: Inflammatory bowel diseases; Ulcerative colitis; Crohn’s disease; Technology-enhanced learning; E-learning; Web-based learning; Continuing medical education

Core tip: In a field that is rapidly evolving, healthcare professionals face new challenges in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) management that includes new drugs, new treatment goals and new quality measures in patient care. In an era of advanced communications technology, web-based resources offer diverse, substantial, very efficient, and easily accessible accredited educational opportunities. These can save time and cost compared to the more traditional modes of knowledge acquisition. In this review, we provide a guide of web-based IBD-related educational resources for practitioners to allow acquisition or maintenance of certified skills and knowledge in IBD management.