using micro-learning to enhance knowledge and skills of airway management in nurse anesthesia students: an interventional study

Background: as a subfield of e-learning, micro-learning provides asynchronous instruction to reduce mental strain and boost understanding by delivering educational content in bite-sized, concise learning modules. this study aimed to investigate the effect of micro-learning on the airway management knowledge and skills of nurse anesthesia students.methods: this non-randomized controlled study, employing a pre-test-post-test design, included 52 nurse anesthesia students in iran. participants were first assessed with a pre-test, and then assigned to either the m-l m (n=26) or t m (n=26) groups. over three weeks, the m-l m group received micro-learning-based materials through social media, while the t m group received traditional face-to-face instruction. the intervention focused on airway management during peri-induction of general anesthesia. then, the first and second post-tests were given to assess the acquisition and retention of knowledge and skills, using a researcher-made instrument called amai-na.results: based on within-group comparisons, in both m-l m and t m groups mean scores of both knowledge and skills significantly increased from the pre-test to 1st post-test, then declined from 1st post-test to 2nd post-test. yet, 2nd post-test mean scores remained significantly higher than the pre-test for both groups. based on inter-group comparisons, despite the absence of a statistically significant difference in pre-test mean scores between the two groups, the mean scores for knowledge and skills of the m-l m group were significantly higher than those of the t m group in 1st and 2nd post-tests. furthermore, the m-l m group exhibited a greater increase in mean scores from the pre-test to 1st and 2nd post-tests compared to the t m group, as well as a lesser decrease from 1st post-test to 2nd post-test.conclusion: this study demonstrated that micro-learning significantly enhanced the acquisition and retention of knowledge and skills related to airway management, compared to the traditional method.