D2.416 - Online Education Significantly Improves Physicians’ Knowledge of Novel Long-Term Prophylaxis Therapies for Hereditary Angioedema

Physicians face challenges staying up to date with the novel emerging therapies and long-term management strategies for patients with hereditary angioedema (HAE). While accessing the ever-growing field of knowledge is often time consuming, online education has been increasingly recognized to fill this knowledge gap efficiently. 

As part of a larger curriculum, we developed an online CME activity titled: “Looking Ahead in Hereditary Angioedema: Novel Targets and Therapeutic Implications”. The goal of this analysis was to assess whether this online CME activity improved physicians’ knowledge regarding novel therapies for long-term prophylaxis (LTP) of HAE (rationale, mechanism of action, and clinical data).

Learners participated in an online CME activity (www.medscape.org/viewarticle/1001262) consisting of a 30-minute video discussion between 3 experts with accompanying slides. Here we report data for allergists and clinical immunologists. The effect of education was assessed using 4 repeated pre- and post-activity questions (3 on knowledge, 1 about confidence). A paired samples t-test was conducted for significance testing on overall average number of correct responses and for confidence rating, and a McNemar’s test was conducted at the question level (5% significance level). Cohen’s d for paired samples estimated the effect size of the education (<.20 modest, .20-.49 small, .59-.79 moderate, ≥.80 large). The CME activity was launched on 28 June 2024, and the data were collected through to 22 October 2024.

Of 452 allergists and clinical immunologists who viewed the activity within this time period, 31 completed all pre- and post-assessment questions. Overall, 55% improved their knowledge (P < .001) indicating a large effect as result of participating in the learning activity (Cohen’s d = 0.92). The average percentage of correct responses rose from 44% pre-activity to 70% post-activity. The change for each learning objective is shown in table 1. Overall, 48% had a measurable improvement in confidence in their ability to understand the mechanism of action, with a significant increase in mean confidence levels pre- vs post-education (2.58 vs 3.19; P < .001)

This online CME activity significantly improved allergists and clinical immunologists’ knowledge of novel LTP therapies for HAE. However, there is still room for further improvement, since 30% of physicians provided incorrect answers post-education. Future educational programs can focus on addressing this gap.