Bringing the Pediatric Endocrine Spanish Speaking Community Together: First Virtual Pediatric Endocrine Meeting in Low- and Middle-Income Countries in Central and South America
BackgroundPediatric endocrinology is a specialty that is struggling worldwide to maintain adequately trained professionals. Pediatric endocrine care in Central America and Caribbean countries is often performed by pediatricians or adult endocrinologists due to the limited num...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
JMIR Publications
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Interactive Journal of Medical Research |
| Online Access: | https://www.i-jmr.org/2023/1/e41353 |
| _version_ | 1827857439983140864 |
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| author | Roberto Bogarin Luis Elizondo Evangelia Kalaitzoglou Jadranka Popovic Alan Rogol Erick Richmond Jean-Pierre Chanoine Jose M Lopez-Pedrosa Francis Ruiz Salazar Patricia Vuguin |
| author_facet | Roberto Bogarin Luis Elizondo Evangelia Kalaitzoglou Jadranka Popovic Alan Rogol Erick Richmond Jean-Pierre Chanoine Jose M Lopez-Pedrosa Francis Ruiz Salazar Patricia Vuguin |
| author_sort | Roberto Bogarin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundPediatric endocrinology is a specialty that is struggling worldwide to maintain adequately trained professionals. Pediatric endocrine care in Central America and Caribbean countries is often performed by pediatricians or adult endocrinologists due to the limited number of pediatric endocrinologists. These health care providers are seldom members of endocrine societies and frequently lack formal training in the field.
ObjectiveIn this study, we describe the scope of a virtual conference in pediatric endocrinology and diabetes targeted to low- and middle-income countries to provide equal opportunities for access to medical education for health care professionals.
MethodsThe virtual conference was sponsored by the Pediatric Endocrine Society (North America), Asociación Costarricense de Endocrinología (previously, Asociación Nacional Pro Estudio de la Diabetes, Endocrinología y Metabolismo), and Asociacion Centroamericana y del Caribe de Endocrinologia Pediátrica. The conference was free to participants and comprised 23 sessions that were either synchronous with ability for real-time interactive sessions or asynchronous sessions, where content was available online to access at their convenience. Topics included idiopathic short stature, polycystic ovarian syndrome, diabetes mellitus, telemedicine, Turner syndrome, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, obesity, central precocious puberty, and subclinical hypothyroidism. The participants were asked to evaluate the conference after its completion with a questionnaire.
ResultsA total of 8 speakers from Spain, Canada, Costa Rica, and the United States delivered the virtual event to 668 health care professionals from Guatemala, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Mexico, Honduras, Argentina, the United States, Bolivia, Chile, Panama, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Belize, Spain, and Colombia. Name, profession, and country were fully disclosed by 410 (61.4%) of the 668 health care professionals. The profession or level of training of participants were as follows: pediatric endocrinologists (n=129, 19.3%), pediatricians (n=116, 17.4%), general practitioners (n=77, 11.5%), adult endocrinologists (n=34, 5.1%), medical students (n=23, 3.4%), residents in various specialties (n=14, 2.1%), and others (n=17, 2.6%). A total of 23 sessions were offered, most of which were bilingual (Spanish and English). Feedback from the evaluation questionnaire indicated that the content of the conference was very relevant to the participants’ professional practice. Additionally, the participants reported that they were very satisfied with the organization, the web-based platform, and the sessions of the conference.
ConclusionsLack of accessibility to the latest and cutting-edge medical education in pediatric endocrinology and diabetes for medical professionals from low- and middle-income countries can be overcome with a virtual conference. Online availability, low cost, and easy-to-use technology were well received from the participants, who were overall very satisfied by the quality and the relevance of the sessions to their professional practice. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:40:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-964b415d1d47468e84305cb43617ff32 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1929-073X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:40:34Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Interactive Journal of Medical Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-964b415d1d47468e84305cb43617ff322023-08-28T23:52:50ZengJMIR PublicationsInteractive Journal of Medical Research1929-073X2023-05-0112e4135310.2196/41353Bringing the Pediatric Endocrine Spanish Speaking Community Together: First Virtual Pediatric Endocrine Meeting in Low- and Middle-Income Countries in Central and South AmericaRoberto Bogarinhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1354-8852Luis Elizondohttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2043-9195Evangelia Kalaitzoglouhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0556-3975Jadranka Popovichttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8963-2797Alan Rogolhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7526-3142Erick Richmondhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9946-3686Jean-Pierre Chanoinehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5167-2064Jose M Lopez-Pedrosahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6163-8532Francis Ruiz Salazarhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5842-9932Patricia Vuguinhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4982-0400 BackgroundPediatric endocrinology is a specialty that is struggling worldwide to maintain adequately trained professionals. Pediatric endocrine care in Central America and Caribbean countries is often performed by pediatricians or adult endocrinologists due to the limited number of pediatric endocrinologists. These health care providers are seldom members of endocrine societies and frequently lack formal training in the field. ObjectiveIn this study, we describe the scope of a virtual conference in pediatric endocrinology and diabetes targeted to low- and middle-income countries to provide equal opportunities for access to medical education for health care professionals. MethodsThe virtual conference was sponsored by the Pediatric Endocrine Society (North America), Asociación Costarricense de Endocrinología (previously, Asociación Nacional Pro Estudio de la Diabetes, Endocrinología y Metabolismo), and Asociacion Centroamericana y del Caribe de Endocrinologia Pediátrica. The conference was free to participants and comprised 23 sessions that were either synchronous with ability for real-time interactive sessions or asynchronous sessions, where content was available online to access at their convenience. Topics included idiopathic short stature, polycystic ovarian syndrome, diabetes mellitus, telemedicine, Turner syndrome, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, obesity, central precocious puberty, and subclinical hypothyroidism. The participants were asked to evaluate the conference after its completion with a questionnaire. ResultsA total of 8 speakers from Spain, Canada, Costa Rica, and the United States delivered the virtual event to 668 health care professionals from Guatemala, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Mexico, Honduras, Argentina, the United States, Bolivia, Chile, Panama, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Belize, Spain, and Colombia. Name, profession, and country were fully disclosed by 410 (61.4%) of the 668 health care professionals. The profession or level of training of participants were as follows: pediatric endocrinologists (n=129, 19.3%), pediatricians (n=116, 17.4%), general practitioners (n=77, 11.5%), adult endocrinologists (n=34, 5.1%), medical students (n=23, 3.4%), residents in various specialties (n=14, 2.1%), and others (n=17, 2.6%). A total of 23 sessions were offered, most of which were bilingual (Spanish and English). Feedback from the evaluation questionnaire indicated that the content of the conference was very relevant to the participants’ professional practice. Additionally, the participants reported that they were very satisfied with the organization, the web-based platform, and the sessions of the conference. ConclusionsLack of accessibility to the latest and cutting-edge medical education in pediatric endocrinology and diabetes for medical professionals from low- and middle-income countries can be overcome with a virtual conference. Online availability, low cost, and easy-to-use technology were well received from the participants, who were overall very satisfied by the quality and the relevance of the sessions to their professional practice.https://www.i-jmr.org/2023/1/e41353 |
| spellingShingle | Roberto Bogarin Luis Elizondo Evangelia Kalaitzoglou Jadranka Popovic Alan Rogol Erick Richmond Jean-Pierre Chanoine Jose M Lopez-Pedrosa Francis Ruiz Salazar Patricia Vuguin Bringing the Pediatric Endocrine Spanish Speaking Community Together: First Virtual Pediatric Endocrine Meeting in Low- and Middle-Income Countries in Central and South America Interactive Journal of Medical Research |
| title | Bringing the Pediatric Endocrine Spanish Speaking Community Together: First Virtual Pediatric Endocrine Meeting in Low- and Middle-Income Countries in Central and South America |
| title_full | Bringing the Pediatric Endocrine Spanish Speaking Community Together: First Virtual Pediatric Endocrine Meeting in Low- and Middle-Income Countries in Central and South America |
| title_fullStr | Bringing the Pediatric Endocrine Spanish Speaking Community Together: First Virtual Pediatric Endocrine Meeting in Low- and Middle-Income Countries in Central and South America |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bringing the Pediatric Endocrine Spanish Speaking Community Together: First Virtual Pediatric Endocrine Meeting in Low- and Middle-Income Countries in Central and South America |
| title_short | Bringing the Pediatric Endocrine Spanish Speaking Community Together: First Virtual Pediatric Endocrine Meeting in Low- and Middle-Income Countries in Central and South America |
| title_sort | bringing the pediatric endocrine spanish speaking community together first virtual pediatric endocrine meeting in low and middle income countries in central and south america |
| url | https://www.i-jmr.org/2023/1/e41353 |
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