Using a Web-Based Platform as an Alternative for Conducting International, Multidisciplinary Medical Conferences During the Novel COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of a Conference

Po-Jen Ko; Sheng-Yueh Yu; John Chien-Hwa Chang; Ming-Ju Hsieh; Sung-Yu Chu; Jimmy Wei-Hwa Tan; Wan-Ling Cheng; Pei Ho

doi:10.2196/23980

Using a Web-Based Platform as an Alternative for Conducting International, Multidisciplinary Medical Conferences During the Novel COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of a Conference

JMIR Med Educ. 2021 Jun 9;7(2):e23980. doi: 10.2196/23980.

Authors

Po-Jen Ko^#^{1

2}, Sheng-Yueh Yu^#¹, John Chien-Hwa Chang^#^{3

4}, Ming-Ju Hsieh^#^{2

5}, Sung-Yu Chu^#⁶, Jimmy Wei-Hwa Tan^#⁷, Wan-Ling Cheng^#⁸, Pei Ho^#⁹

Affiliations

¹ Division of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Linkou Main Branch and Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
² College of Medicine, School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Linkou, Taiwan.
³ Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Dalin, Taiwan.
⁴ College of Medicine, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Linkou Main Branch and Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Medical Imaging and Intervention, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Linkou Main Branch and Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
⁷ Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Tainan Municipal An-Nan Hospital, China Medical University, Tainan, Taiwan.
⁸ Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Linkou Main Branch and Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
⁹ Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 33970866
PMCID: PMC8191725
DOI: 10.2196/23980

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has stunted medical education activities, resulting in most conferences being cancelled or postponed. To continue professional education during this crisis, web-based conferences can be conducted via livestream and an audience interaction platform as an alternative.

Objective: The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has affected human connections worldwide. Conventional conferences have been replaced by web-based conferences. However, web-based conferencing has its challenges and limitations. This paper reports the logistics and preparations required for converting an international, on-site, multidisciplinary conference into a completely web-based conference within 3 weeks during the pandemic.

Methods: The program was revised, and a teleconference system, live recording system, director system setup, and broadcasting platform were arranged to conduct the web-based conference.

Results: We used YouTube (Alphabet Inc) and WeChat (Tencent Holdings Limited) for the web-based conference. Of the 24 hours of the conventional conference, 21.5 hours (90%) were retained in the web-based conference via live broadcasting. The conference was attended by 71% (37/52) of the original international faculties and 71% (27/38) of the overall faculties. In total, 61 out of 66 presentations (92%) were delivered. A special session-"Dialysis access management under the impact of viral epidemics"-was added to replace precongress workshops and competitions. The conference received 1810, 1452, and 1008 visits on YouTube and 6777, 4623, and 3100 visits on WeChat on conference days 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

Conclusions: Switching from a conventional on-site conference to a completely web-based format within a short period is a feasible method for maintaining professional education in a socially responsible manner during a pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; conference; coronavirus; dialysis access; interaction; internet; live broadcast; medical education; social media; teleconference; web-based conference; web-based platform.

©Po-Jen Ko, Sheng-Yueh Yu, John Chien-Hwa Chang, Ming-Ju Hsieh, Sung-Yu Chu, Jimmy Wei-Hwa Tan, Wan-Ling Cheng, Pei Ho. Originally published in JMIR Medical Education (https://mededu.jmir.org), 09.06.2021.