Completion of Massive Open Online Course Improved Global Distribution of Knowledge about Traumatic Brain Injury (21981)
The understanding traumatic brain injury massive open online course (TBI MOOC) was developed to improve awareness and reduce misconceptions of TBI in the community. This study assessed the impact of the TBI MOOC on participant's misconceptions of TBI. Participants (n=1,267) were from 45 different countries that represented all 6 continents except for Antarctica where 91.7% were from high income countries. Most of the study population were women (82.6%) with a mean age of 45.8 years (18 – 83 years) and have completed tertiary education or above (65.8%). In the March 2023 iteration of the TBI MOOC, 10.5% of the respondents indicated that that they had sustained a TBI whilst 45.7% responded that a family member is living with a TBI. Additionally, 48.9% of all study participants stated that they are currently providing paid care for individuals living with a TBI. Participants who exhibited the lowest scores on the misconceptions about TBI survey prior to completing the MOOC had either lower educational levels, never provided paid care, are currently providing unpaid or voluntary care, have never personally sustained a TBI or had a family member who has sustained a TBI. However, after completing the MOOC all participants, regardless of group, had similar scores indicating that the MOOC is an effective tool to reduce misconceptions of TBI in the community.