| Acceptability and engagement with the e-Learning platform |
The e-Learning platform was seen favourably by both those who interacted with the online platform and those that did not. Of those who used and engaged with the platform, it was reported that the platform was useful in “creating an avenue for me to learn via my phone any day and anytime” (BUK student 1). The ability to access and complete tasks on the platform was valued across participants. Despite a lack of engagement from some participants, most saw value in increasing teaching and content around pain and felt it would be an informative and useful platform, “…because it helps us understand the physiology of pain, which is very useful for clinical practice” (ESUT student 1). |
| Of those that engaged with the platform, multiple drivers for its use were cited across students. These included those with a “quest for knowledge” (ESUT student 2), alongside those wanting to gain knowledge to inform their clinical practice, “…to be able to do something and save the life of the patient” (BUK student 2) and act accordingly in the “…face of an emergency and a patient in pain” (BUK student 3). |
| Both barriers and facilitators to engagement were noted for those who did not engage with the platform. For most participants, barriers to use were education-related (e.g. competing deadlines and existing high levels of work across the course), technology-related (e.g. limited phone network signal, lack and expense of data, difficulty downloading the phone application), and personal (e.g. family health, finding the platform exhausting and requiring concentration). A small number of participants were deterred from using the platform due to issues downloading data that were caused by either their mobile phone network coverage or the platform itself. Facilitators to use of the platform noted by participants included individual drive and determination to undertake the training online, perceived cost benefit of online platform when compared to relative expense of buying pain textbooks, and some participants noting offers held by their mobile phone provider that enabled them to allocate more data to accessing and it “…was helpful in downloading all the section materials” (ESUT student 3). |
| Perceived value of e-Learning approaches for pain |
The appraisal of content by those who engaged with the platform highlighted its importance in recapping on “…some basics in physiology and biochemistry” (BUK student 1). However, content was also welcome that taught participants about non-pharmacological approaches to pain management (“…many more methods of pain management other than drugs” (ESUT student 1)). Furthermore, participants noted improvements in overcoming confusion around pain management, including that it “…greatly improved my understanding and cleared multiple misconceptions that are not really taught in a classroom” (BUK student 4). |
| In terms of the content covered, there was interest in particular for content covered towards the beginning on the modules, focusing on pain physiology, different types of pain, and definitions surrounding pain and its management. The platform was acknowledged as addressing a broad curriculum, “ranging from the types and causes of pain to the different approaches in its management” (ESUT student 4). Furthermore, the content on opioids and end of life care were noted as very important too, which helps to address “a lot of misconceptions about abuse of opioids. And there’s very little end of life pain management provided in this area of the world” (BUK student 5). |
| The perception of the platform from peers of those who engaged with the platform indicated that many saw it as an opportunity to acquire new knowledge and it was viewed positively by most peers. The platform was reported as being seen as usable, informative and interesting by peers. However, for some participants, peers reported indifference and lack of interest. For those who did not engage with the platform, some alongside their peers reported that they did not see a need for the platform, viewed it as unnecessary and that the process of completing all activities on the platform took a long time. |
| Recommendations for how engagement and the platform might be developed |
Participants who engaged and did not engage with the platform provided multiple suggestions for how the platform and future e-Learning platforms might be implemented in the context of undergraduate medical education in Nigeria. In terms of integration with the existing curriculum, participants felt that it could be included as part of surgical training, as internal medicine, or as “…a broad aspect of pharmacology or medicine” (ESUT student 3). Suggestions were provided for how engagement might be increased in future iterations or deployments of the platform. Some participants felt that creating wider awareness of the platform would be advantageous, although many felt that the platform would “need to be made compulsory” (UNN student 1) to increase engagement. In terms of platform content, participants suggested that “reducing the number of video tutorials may make it a bit cheaper as regards data usage”, or that content should be made more concise. Incentives were also suggested by participants, including “…making the app offline, cutting down on the many modalities” (ESUT student 4), providing “…free Wi-Fi strong and accessible by all students” (LUTH student 1), potentially providing a “small income because some get discouraged they have to use lots of data without getting paid” (BUK student 2), or providing participants with more time to access and complete content on the platform. |
