Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34455979›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2021

Online teaching in physiotherapy education during COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: a retrospective case-control study on students' satisfaction and performance.

Giacomo Rossettini, Tommaso Geri, Andrea Turolla, Antonello Viceconti, Cristina Scumà, Mattia Mirandola, Andrea Dell'Isola, Silvia Gianola, Filippo Maselli, Alvisa Palese

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Article in BMC medical education, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

24 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Giacomo Rossettini *School of Physiotherapy, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Tommaso Geri *Physiotherapist, Private practitioner, Pistoia, Italy.
Andrea TurollaLaboratory of Rehabilitation Technologies, San Camillo IRCCS srl, Venice, Italy.
Antonello VicecontiDepartment of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, University of Genoa, Campus of Savona, Savona, Italy.
Cristina ScumàSchool of Physiotherapy, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Mattia MirandolaSchool of Physiotherapy, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Andrea Dell'IsolaClinical Epidemiology Unit, Orthopedics, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Entrégatan 8 Lund 22100, Lund, Sweden. andrea.dellisola@med.lu.se.
Silvia GianolaUnit of Clinical Epidemiology, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, Milan, Italy.
Filippo MaselliDepartment of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, University of Genoa, Campus of Savona, Savona, Italy.
Alvisa PaleseDepartment of Medical and Biological Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDuring COVID-19 pandemic, physiotherapy lecturers faced the challenge of rapidly shifting from face-to-face to online education. This retrospective case-control study aims to compare students' satisfaction and performances shown in an online course to a control group of students who underwent the same course delivered face-to-face in the previous five years.

methodsBetween March and April 2020, a class (n = 46) of entry-level physiotherapy students (University of Verona - Italy), trained by an experienced physiotherapist, had 24-hours online lessons. Students exposed to the same course in the previous five academic years (n = 112), delivered with face-to-face conventional lessons, served as a historical control. The course was organized in 3 sequential phases: (1) PowerPoint presentations were uploaded to the University online platform, (2) asynchronous video recorded lectures were provided on the same platform, and (3) between online lectures, the lecturer and students could communicate through an email chat to promote understanding, dispel any doubts and collect requests for supplementary material (e.g., scientific articles, videos, webinars, podcasts). Outcomes were: (1) satisfaction as routinely measured by University with a national instrument and populated in a database; (2) performance as measured with an oral examination.

resultsWe compared satisfaction with the course, expressed on a 5-point Likert scale, resulting in no differences between online and face-to-face teaching (Kruskal-Wallis

conclusionsOnline teaching in entry-level Physiotherapy seems to be a feasible option to face COVID-19 pandemic, as satisfies students as well as face-to-face courses and leading to a similar performance. Entry-level Bachelors in Physiotherapy may consider moving to eLearning to facilitate access to higher education. Universities will have to train lecturers to help them develop appropriate pedagogical skills, and supply suitable support in terms of economic, organizational, and technological issues, aimed at guaranteeing a high level of education to their students.

trial registrationRetrospectively registered.

Indexed as

COVID-19PandemicsCase-Control StudiesHumansPersonal SatisfactionRetrospective StudiesSARS-CoV-2StudentsCOVID-19DigitalDistanceEducationE-learningEntry-levelOnlinePhysiotherapySARS-CoV-2.Student

Identifiers

PMID34455979
PMCPMC8403505

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.