Feasibility of the online educational tool about the ActiveHip + mHealth intervention in occupational therapy students.

Abstract

Background: The rise of electronic learning and digital health underscores the need for occupational therapists (OTs) to be proficient in using them. Digital training enables OTs to update their skills, while the integration of digital health tools into clinical practice enhances patient care. Thus, it is crucial to explore the factors that influence the acquisition of knowledge in occupational therapists through digital training. In response, an online educational tool about the ActiveHip + mHealth intervention (NCT04859309) was developed to enhance students' knowledge of managing digital health tools for older adults with a hip fracture.

Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of the online educational tool about the ActiveHip + mHealth intervention. The secondary aims were to explore the relationship between the knowledge after using the online educational tool and different factors (e.g., emotional status) and to inform future studies to assess the effectiveness of this tool.

Methods: A feasibility study was conducted including Occupational Therapy (OT) students who completed the online educational tool about ActiveHip + mHealth intervention. The feasibility was assessed through adoption, adherence and acceptability, while learning was assessed using a questionnaire administered before and after the use of the online educational tool. The influence of different factors (i.e., emotional intelligence, previous knowledge) on knowledge after using it was also estimated.

Results: The online educational tool demonstrated satisfactory feasibility results, with 83% adoption, 98% adherence and high overall acceptance (120.35 out of 141). Among the acceptance dimensions, performance expectancy, effort expectancy and facilitating conditions received the highest scores. While factors such as course year, effort expectancy and hedonic motivation showed independent correlations with knowledge after using the online educational tool, sequential regression analysis revealed that prior knowledge was the only significant predictor of the knowledge after using the online tool.

Conclusion: The online educational tool about ActiveHip + mHealth intervention is feasible to use for the occupational therapy students. However, we do not recommend its implementation in educational settings until well-randomised controlled trials confirm its effectiveness.