Rapid, multimodal, critical care knowledge-sharing platform for COVID-19 pandemic

In many areas of the world, critical care providers caring for COVID-19 patients lacked specific knowledge and were exposed to the abundance of new and unfiltered information. With support from the World Health Organization, we created a multimodal tele-education intervention to rapidly share critical care knowledge related to COVID-19 targeting providers in a region of Southeastern Europe. We delivered 60-minute weekly interactive tele-education sessions over YouTube[TM] between March and May 2020, supplemented by a dedicated webpage. The intervention was reinforced using a secure social media platform (Viber[TM]) providing continuous rapid knowledge exchange among faculty and learners. A high level of engagement was observed with over 2,000 clinicians participating and actively interacting over a six-week period. Surveyed participants were highly satisfied with the intervention. Tele-education interventions using social media platforms are feasible, low-cost, and effective methods to share knowledge during the COVID-19 pandemic. KEYWORDS: COVID 19; intensive care unit; critical illness; education; knowledge sharing; global health