International concerns relating to healthcare professionals' failure to rescue deteriorating patients exist. Web-based training programs have been developed and evaluated in Western settings but further testing is required before application in non-Western countries, as traditional modalities of learning may differ between cultures. We trialed an Australian English language online simulation program for the management of deteriorating patients, Feedback Incorporating Review and Simulation Techniques to Act on Clinical Trends (FIRST(2) ACTWeb), to test cultural acceptability, transferability, and educational impact. The study was designed as a quasi-experimental evaluation of the FIRST(2) ACTWeb program with final year nursing students from a Bachelor of Nursing program at the University of Hong Kong. Participants completed pre-course and post-course tests, three interactive scenarios, and program evaluations. The program was positively evaluated, with significant improvements in knowledge, skills, self-rating of performance, confidence, and competence. Outcomes were comparable to earlier evaluations with Australian students, demonstrating that an interactive simulation-based program of patient deterioration management has cultural and language acceptability and transferability across communities with significant educational impact.
Keywords: culture; deteriorating patients; e-learning; education; nursing students; simulation.
© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.