Economic evaluation of CPD activities for healthcare professionals: A scoping review

Orlik, Witold; Aleo, Giuseppe; Kearns, Thomas; Briody, Jonathan; Wray, Jane; Mahon, Paul; Gazić, Mario; Radoš, Normela; García Vivar, Cristina; Lillo Crespo, Manuel; Fitzgerald, Catherine

Abstract

Context: Continuing professional development (CPD) activities for healthcare professionals are central to the optimisation of patient safety and person-centred care. Although there is some evidence on the economics of healthcare professionals training, very little is known about the costs and benefits of CPD. Methods: This study aimed to review the research evidence on economic evaluations of CPD activities for healthcare professionals. CINAHL, MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Econlit and Web of Science databases were used to identify articles published between 2010 and 2021. Results: Of the 6791 titles identified, 119 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in this scoping review. The majority of articles were partial economic evaluations of CPD programmes (n =70); half were from the USA. Studies that included multiple professions were most prevalent (n =54), followed by nurses (n =34) and doctors (n =23). Patient outcomes were the most commonly reported outcome (n =51), followed by change in clinical practice (n =38) and healthcare professionals' knowledge gain (n =19). Conclusions: There is an urgent call for more evidence regarding the economic evaluations of CPD. This is particularly important in view of the rising costs of healthcare globally. The majority of studies included in this review did not provide detailed information on the evaluations and many focused exclusively on the cost of CPD activities rather than outcomes.

Citation

Orlik, W., Aleo, G., Kearns, T., Briody, J., Wray, J., Mahon, P., …Fitzgerald, C. (2022). Economic evaluation of CPD activities for healthcare professionals: A scoping review. Medical Education, https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14813

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 19, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Apr 21, 2022
• Publication Date: 2022
• Deposit Date: Apr 24, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: May 3, 2022
• Journal: Medical Education
• Print ISSN: 0308-0110
• Electronic ISSN: 1365-2923
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14813
• Keywords: Continuing professional development; economic evaluation; health professionals
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3983654
• Publisher URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652923