Impact of Educational Format on Learner Commitment to Change and Satisfaction

Introduction: The value proposition of CME lies in its ability to elicit change in learners so new knowledge and skills are used to improve patient outcomes. In this study, we test the hypothesis that, in contrast to passive learning, education with an active engagement component has a greater impact on the motivation of learners to make changes in their practice. Methods: We analyzed nine educational formats produced by the American Academy of Family Physicians. CME program between 2015 and 2017. Postactivity learner evaluations were used to measure both satisfaction and "commitment to change"-the percentage of learners who committed in making a change in their practice as a result of their participation. Results: We found education that was interactive and leveraged elements of social learning theory produced the greatest commitment to change the score. Lower scores were obtained for more passive education formats. By contrast, satisfaction scores were not significantly different between formats. Discussion: Our data demonstrate differences between commitment to change and educational format that could inform how format types might be better used to promote a behavior change. We also demonstrate that learner satisfaction has little or no value as a measure of educational efficacy.