Blended Learning Versus Face-to-face Learning in Cardiac Physiotherapy Students

September 20, 2022 updated by: Elena Marques-Sule, University of Valencia

A Randomized Trial Comparing Blended Learning Versus Face-to-face Learning in Cardiac Physiotherapy Students

Blended learning (BL) combines both face-to-face learning (FL) and online learning. There is no evidence about the effects of a BL program in cardiac physiotherapy education. This study aimed at comparing the effectiveness of a BL program versus a FL program in Physiotherapy Degree students on knowledge, competencies, satisfaction, perceptions, usability, BL acceptance, attitudes and behaviours. An assessor-blinded randomized trial was performed.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Blended learning (BL) combines both face-to-face learning (FL) and online learning. There is no evidence about the effects of a BL program in cardiac physiotherapy education. This study aimed at comparing the effectiveness of a BL program versus a FL program in Physiotherapy Degree students on knowledge, competencies, satisfaction, perceptions, usability, BL acceptance, attitudes and behaviours. An assessor-blinded randomized trial was performed. A total of 100 students were randomly allocated to a BL group (BLG, n=48), or a FL group (FLG, n=52). The BLG received face-to-face classes plus online re-sources (online syllabus, Moodle, scientific-based videos and websites, activities, glossary, and apps). The FLG received face-to-face classes and hardcopy resources (hardcopy syl-labus, scientific-based information, activities, and glossary). Knowledge, ethical and gen-der competencies, satisfaction, and perceptions were assessed pre- and post-intervention. Usability, BL acceptance, attitudes and behaviours were assessed post-intervention.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
100

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Spain
      • Valencia, Spain, 46010
        • University of Valencia

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Being a student of Degree in Physiotherapy at the University of Valencia.
  • Willing to participate

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Previous cardiac physiotherapy training.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Blended-learning group
The BL program included paced, asynchronous online learning modules and scheduled online activities with strategic face-to-face lectures.
Other: Blended-learning group
The BL program included paced, asynchronous online learning modules and scheduled online activities with strategic face-to-face lectures. Resources: 1) Moodle platform: it was used as a virtual communication platform. 2) Online syllabus: an online specific syllabus about cardiac physiotherapy was developed. 3) Online glossary: an online glossary performed by the teacher was available for the students. 4) Online videos: several videos of international and national scientific societies were provided. 5) Websites: several links to websites of international and national scientific societies such as the European Society of Cardiology, the American Heart Association or the World Heart Federation were used. 6) Online activities: five four-question online activities were created. 7) Apps, using the app Ariadna to prevent from cardiovascular risk and look for defibrillators around; 8) Online tutorship, through an online communication platform (Blackboard Collaborate).
Active Comparator: Face-to-face learning group
Face-to-face classes.
Other: Face-to-face learning group
The FLG included: 1) Face-to-face classes; 2) Hardcopy syllabus; 3) Hardcopy scien-tific societies information; 4) Face-to-face activities: four questions per each theme; 5) Hardcopy glossary; and 6) Face-to-face tutorships. In all cases, the content of the infor-mation provided was the same as the information provided to the BLG, although in a face-to-face design.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Knowledge acquisition
Time Frame: 5 minutes
Multiple-choice test. Score from 0 to 10 .The higher the score, the greater the knowledge.
5 minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Cross-curricular ethical and gender competencies
Time Frame: 5 minute
Higher Education, Transversal Skills and Gender Questionnaire. From 1 to 42. The higher the score, the more ethical and gender competencies are acquired.
5 minute
Satisfaction with the program
Time Frame: 5 minute
6-item Yang's Satisfaction Questionnaire. From 1 to 24. The higher the score, the greater the satisfaction with the program.
5 minute
Perceptions and evaluation of the program
Time Frame: 5 minutes
8-item Kavadella's Perceptions Questionnaire. From 1 to 40 points. The higher the score, the better the perceptions and evaluation of the program.
5 minutes
Usability of the virtual platform
Time Frame: 5 minutes
System Usability Scale. The total SUS score (0 to 100) can be interpreted as not acceptable (0-64), acceptable (65 to 84), or excellent (85 to 100)
5 minutes
Blended-learning acceptance
Time Frame: 5 minutes
4-item Blended Learning Acceptance Scale. From 1 to 28 points. The higher the score, the greater the acceptance.
5 minutes
Students' attitudes towards e-learning and e-learning behaviour
Time Frame: 5 minutes
Questionnaire comprising 3 items (how much Moodle helped you, willingness of using Moodle, interest in e-learning). The higher score, the greater attitudes towards e-learning and e-learning behaviour.
5 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Valencia

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Elena Marqués Sulé, Dra, Univeristy of Valencia

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 12, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 30, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 30, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 15, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 15, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 21, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 22, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 20, 2022

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IE1576047

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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