Ophthalmology Webinars Have the Potential to Enhance the Knowledge of the Participants and Change their Attitude About PANIS Method

Abstract

Purpose: We have previously presented Plasma-Assisted Noninvasive Surgery (PANIS) as an effective method in managing ocular surface disorders (OSDs). In this study we tried to evaluate the impact of our cobinar (Conference + Webinar) about PANIS method on ophthalmologists either in-person or online. Methods: This study was designed as a quasi-experimental evaluation including a pre-/post-test investigation, conducting on 53 ophthalmologists. The participants were asked to complete a questionnaire provided by the authors including 14 questions before and after the cobinar. Results: The cobinar had a positive effect on the participants’ knowledge about the topics, however this increase (11%) was significant only among participants who didn’t attend previously. The results indicated that the enthusiasm of the participants on use of PANIS method as their first line of treatment of OSDs or periorbital lesions was increased. Conclusion: The results showed that ophthalmology cobinars have the potential to enhance the knowledge of the participants as well as changing their attitude about a certain subject. Our results revealed that online education can serve as an effective method to transfer the knowledge and also has an impact on attitude of ophthalmologists to use new methods in the arena.