Intervention Fidelity: Monitoring Drift, Providing Feedback, and Assessing the Control Condition.
Carol Bova, Carol Jaffarian, Sybil Crawford and 3 others
PMID 27977568WHAT IT FOUND
Both education groups received similar diabetes content, but the simulator group took longer to teach.
This report shows how the team checked teaching stayed on plan, not whether simulator education improved diabetes management.
Key findings
01The sample was 191 parents of 116 children, and 124 completed parent receipt forms; average scores were 42.3 and 41.4 on a 0 to 46 scale, similar between groups.
02Direct observation covered 10% of the sample, with 21 observations across three sessions; mean scores were 11.0 for both groups on a 0 to 12 scale, with no differences by group, session, rater, or site.
03The simulator group required more teaching time than the control group, and this difference remained at all three planned analysis time points.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This report describes fidelity monitoring, not the main trial's patient outcomes. Only 124 of 191 enrolled parents completed the parent receipt forms. Direct observation covered 10% of the sample, and the authors say observations were less useful for training decisions because interventionists were aware of observers and scores varied little. The observation form, educator documentation forms, and parent receipt questionnaire were developed by the research team. The study had multiple sites and educators with different practice styles, so the fidelity findings may not transfer to every diabetes education program.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that human patient simulator education improves diabetes management or that either teaching method is superior. This report only describes fidelity monitoring, and all participants received standard diabetes education.