Effectiveness of Digital Learning in Community Mental Health Care Among Nurses in India.

BACKGROUND: Digital learning is a cost-effective and time-saving approach in higher education. The present study aimed to check the impact of continuing nursing education programs through digital learning by connecting Indian nurses to NIMHANS Digital Academy (NDA).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: One group pre-test and post-test design was used for this study. Overall, 217 nurses registered for the course and 146 nurses were recruited on the basis of eligibility and their Expression of Interest (EoI) through the online registration portal. All the nurses who had access to the internet and enough internet literacy were included in the study. 64 nurses had not submitted the post-test due to various reasons within the stipulated time. Hence, the final sample achieved and calculated for the analysis was n = 82. The data for this study were collected through the retrospective chart review method.

RESULT: The findings of this study reveal that most of the nurses in India had willingness and readiness for digital learning. All the nurses who joined the NDA learning program stated that they would like to improve their knowledge regarding mental health and illness, to identify and manage mentally ill patients efficiently. The results indicated that the training provided through NDA positively impacted the nurses' knowledge and fulfilled their learning needs. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference between knowledge, practice, and confidence score changes for the two-time point period, i.e. before and after the training.

CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that conducting Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) through a digital learning program is an effective teaching-learning method in the nursing curriculum.