Hearing Loss in Children: Critical Medical Education Delivered as Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)

Abstract

Purpose: Although early identification of pediatric hearing loss is crucial, a formal online training course has not been freely accessible to a global audience. In response, we created a novel course for health professionals worldwide.

Method: Course development occurred from February 2019 to May 2020. Seventeen multidisciplinary experts provided video lectures and demonstrations, including a tour of ear anatomy, operating footage of cochlear implant insertion, and demonstrations of children undergoing hearing testing. Content also included steps for interpreting audiograms, an overview of early screening programs, interviews with Deaf/Hard of Hearing children, and an introduction to public health/educational infrastructure. The course was hosted on Coursera and launched on May 4, 2020.

Results: The course was approved for 11.5 Continuing Medical Education (CME) and American Board of Pediatrics Maintenance of Certification (MOC)-Part 2 credits and spanned five modules comprised of 50 video learning segments: 1) Ear Anatomy, 2) Hearing Loss and Assessments, 3) Hearing Loss Diagnosis and Impact on Speech and Language Development, 4) Interventions for Hearing Loss, 5) Pediatric Vestibular System and Balance. Since its launch, 6,556 learners have enrolled and 1,540 have fully completed the course; Fifty percent were 25-34 years old, 62% were female, and 43% were from Asia. Average rating was 4.9/5 (n=180 reviews).

Conclusions: We created a freely accessible course for a global audience that provides a broad overview of pediatric hearing loss. Our multidisciplinary approach addresses an educational gap and can serve as a model for developing other online courses.

Figure 1.

Exemplary video learning content. Four stills from the online course demonstrate the types of video learning content, including lectures (top and bottom left), demonstrations (top right), and interviews (bottom right). This work is reprinted from Hearing Loss in Children MOOC under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.

Figure 2.

Course overview. Each of the five modules contained a pre- and post-test, along with lessons delivered through video lectures, demonstrations, case examples/discussions, expert interviews, or supplementary readings.

Figure 3.

Learner engagement. There is a peak in learner engagement in early August 2020 and again in late September 2021.

Figure 4.

Quiz completion. Each module had an optional pretest and post-quiz. There was also an optional quiz for continuing education credit. The number of learners who completed each is displayed in the chart.