Enhancing Pediatric Acute Care Through Adaptive E-Learning and In-Person Skills Practice in Tanzania

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether the integration of in-person skills practice (ISP) with an adaptive e-learning platform can improve refresher learning progress (RLP) among healthcare providers in pediatric care settings in Tanzania.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

Can healthcare providers who participate in ISP sessions facilitated by clinical champions achieve greater improvements in refresher learning progress (RLP)? Will providers in the intervention group demonstrate improved metacognition and practical skill performance compared to those in the control group? Researchers will compare healthcare providers using the ISP digital platform (Rhapsode Capable™) to providers using paper-based ISP to see if the digital platform results in significantly higher RLP and fewer skill-based errors.

Participants will:

Complete adaptive e-learning modules focused on pediatric care topics (e.g., newborn resuscitation, severe malnutrition).

Participate in ISP sessions where clinical champions provide feedback and assess performance.

Conditions

• Newborn Resuscitation
• Severe Malnutrition
• Severe Malaria
• Severe Pneumonia
• Severe Dehydration
• In-Service Training
• Computer-Assisted Instruction
• Simulation Training

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Rhapsode Capable™ Platform (Intervention Group)

Participants in the intervention group will use the Rhapsode Capable™ platform to facilitate In-Person Skills Practice (ISP) sessions. The platform allows for scheduling ISP sessions, providing real-time performance feedback, and tracking progress. The platform integrates with the PACE adaptive learning modules, which cover pediatric acute care topics. The goal is to improve skills retention and performance in pediatric care through a blended learning approach.

BEHAVIORAL

Paper-based ISP (Control Group)

Participants in the control group will also receive In-Person Skills Practice (ISP) sessions facilitated by clinical champions, but without the use of the digital platform. The ISP sessions will be tracked and scheduled using paper-based assessments. Feedback will be provided verbally or manually, and progress will be documented using paper forms. Both groups will receive the same PACE adaptive learning modules, but the method of ISP implementation differs between the groups.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences

  collaborator OTHER

• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

  collaborator OTHER

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)

  collaborator NIH

• Stanford University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Peter A Meaney, MD MPH · Stanford University

• Adolfine Hokororo, MD · Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-01-06

Primary Completion

2026-09-01

Completion

2026-12-01

Countries

• Tanzania

Study Locations