Proper e-content format for internet based continuous medical education in Iran

Introduction: As there are different e-CME content formats, we need documented evidence for comparing them. In this study, we determined the proper e-content format for CME activities in Iran. Methods: We devised a questionnaire to gather the opinion of the faculty members who had the experience of e-CME content development about the proper e-CME content format for Iranian medical society. Based on their opinion, we developed 20 e-CME contents and delivered them to the medical society. Learners’ evaluation of the contents provided us with the evidence for assessing the experts’ opinion. Results: There was a significant difference among scores that faculty members had given to different types of contents (P<0.001). They believed that case-based interactive e-contents would improve learners’ performance and increase their interest more than other formats. But they declared that this kind of e-content development is more difficult and time-consuming than developing other types. Learners rated the programs as 4.56 (SD= 0.65) on the 1–5 Likert-type scale, which shows that they are satisfied with this e-content format. Conclusion: Considering the necessity to compare different e-learning strategies and also defining national models to apply them, this study’s results would help designers and providers of e-CME programs in decision making. But more studies should be performed to determine these programs’ learning outcomes.