International Journal of Medical Education (02/29/24) Albrecht, Lisa; Pratt, Misty; Ng, Rhiannon; et al.

A recent study identified eight key domains relevant for continuing medical education conference evaluation. The findings, write the researchers, are "of immediate value to individuals and organizations seeking to either design or evaluate a conference and represents a critical step in the development of a standardized tool for conference evaluation." A Medline review of relevant English and French literature published between 2008 and 2022 identified 83 studies in more than 24 medical fields. In all, 89% (74) of the studies employed evaluation tools that asked for direct input, such as with surveys or interviews, from participants, and 11% (9) used systematic and scoping reviews, discussion-based or open-forum reflections on the conference and observational trials linking attendance to other metrics, such as performance on exams. From there, the researchers extracted and categorized 620 sample items into four established evaluation domains — engagement-networking, education-learning, impact and scholarship — and four new ones identified via content analysis — value-satisfaction, logistics, equity-diversity-inclusivity (EDI) and career influences. Time-based trends were evident in EDI-related content beginning in 2019 and a greater focus on logistics, including virtual conferences, starting in 2020, among others. The authors note their "work helps set the stage for future projects aimed at developing more standardized evaluation instruments which can ultimately improve conference quality."

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