title: General practitioners' knowledge of whiplash guidelines improved with online education.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of an online education program used to implement the Australian (New South Wales) whiplash guidelines with general practitioners (GP). The secondary aim was to identify factors associated with learning.
  
  
  METHODS
  An online educational and evaluation activity was developed to reflect the key messages for GP from the Australian whiplash guidelines. The educational activity was hosted on the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners' website (www.gplearning.com.au) for a period of 3 years. Participants were recruited through advertisement and media releases. Participants completed a baseline evaluation of their knowledge, participated in the interactive educational activity and completed a post-knowledge questionnaire. The primary outcome was change in professional knowledge, predictors of learning were computed using linear regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred and fifteen GP participated. Knowledge significantly improved between baseline and post-knowledge questionnaire scores (P < 0.00001). A total of 57.2% of participants improved their knowledge by more than 20%, indicating a large effect. Low baseline knowledge predicted learning, accounting for 71% of the variance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Online education of GP significantly improved their knowledge in relation to guidelines for whiplash. Those with low baseline knowledge improved their knowledge the most, suggesting that implementation strategies should be targeted at this group.
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Science, The University of Sydney, Lidcombe, NSW 2141, Australia.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rebbeck
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Macedo
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Trevena
authors.forename: I D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Cameron
mesh_terms: D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D058005:General Practitioners; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009517:New South Wales; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014911:Whiplash Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*