A web-based survey of educational opportunities of medical professionals based on changes in conference design during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Published in: Education and information technologies Vol. 27; no. 7; pp. 10371 - 10386
• Main Authors: Yagi, Kenta, Sato, Yasutaka, Sakaguchi, Satoshi, Goda, Mitsuhiro, Hamano, Hirofumi, Aizawa, Fuka, Shimizu, Mayuko, Inoue-Hamano, Arisa, Nishimori, Toshihide, Tagi, Masato, Kanno, Marina, Matsuoka-Ando, Rie, Yoshioka, Toshihiko, Matstubara, Yoshiko, Izawa-Ishizawa, Yuki, Shimizu, Rieko, Maruo, Akinori, Kuniki, Yurika, Sakamoto, Yoshika, Itobayashi, Sayuri, Zamami, Yoshito, Yanagawa, Hiroaki, Ishizawa, Keisuke
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.08.2022; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult learning; Attitudes; Computer Appl. in Social and Behavioral Sciences; Computer Science; Computers and Education; Conferences; Conferences (Gatherings); Conferences and conventions; Conferences, meetings and seminars; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Design; Distance learning; Education; Educational Opportunities; Educational Technology; Foreign Countries; Information Systems Applications (incl.Internet); Lifelong learning; Medical personnel; Medicine; Online instruction; Pandemics; Physicians; Professional Development; Professional Personnel; Surveys; User Interfaces and Human Computer Interaction; Japan; Adult learning; Distance education; Lifelong learning; Online learning
• ISSN: 1360-2357; 1573-7608
• DOI: 10.1007/s10639-022-11032-5

Owing to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, understanding how to hold future online academic conferences effectively is imperative. We assessed the impact of COVID-19 on academic conferences, including facilities and settings for attendance, participation status, cost burden, and preferences for future styles of holding conferences, through a web-based questionnaire survey of 2,739 Japanese medical professionals, from December 2020 to February 2021. Of the participants, 28% preferred web conferences, 60% preferred a mix of web and on-site conferences, and 12% preferred on-site conferences. Additionally, 27% of the presenters stopped presenting new findings at web conferences. The proportion of participants who audio-recorded or filmed the sessions, despite prohibition, was six times higher at web than face-to-face conferences. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the percentage of participants attending general presentations decreased from 91 to 51%. While web conferencing offers advantages, these are offset by a decrease in presentations pertaining to novel findings and data.