October 19, 2020
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Article

Acceptability and feasibility of a virtual community of practice to primary care professionals regarding patient empowerment: A qualitative pilot study

Publicated to:BMC HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH. 19 (1): 403- - 2019-06-20 19(1), DOI: 10.1186/s12913-019-4185-z

Authors: Bermejo-Caja CJ, Koatz D, Orrego C, Perestelo-Pérez L, González-González AI, Ballester M, Pacheco-Huergo V, Del Rey-Granado Y, Muñoz-Balsa M, Ramírez-Puerta AB, Canellas-Criado Y, Pérez-Rivas FJ, Toledo-Chávarri A, Martínez-Marcos M, e-MPODERA group

Affiliations

Centro de Salud El Chorrillo - Author
Ctr Salud El Chorrillo, Direcc Serv Canario Salud, Serv Evaluac & Planificac, Camino Candelaria S-N, El Rosario 38109, Santa Cruz De T, Spain - Author
Ctr Salud El Chorrillo, Fdn Canaria Invest Sanitaria, Camino Candelaria S-N, El Rosario 38109, Santa Cruz De T, Spain - Author
EAP Turó - Author
EAP Turo, Vilapicina 8C, Barcelona, Spain - Author
Fundación Canaria de Investigación Sanitaria (FUNCANIS) - Author
Gerencia Asistencial de Atención Primaria - Author
Goethe Univ Frankfurt, Inst Allegemeinmed, Theodor Stern Kai 7, D-60590 Frankfurt, Germany - Author
Goethe-Universitat Frankfurt am Main - Author
Instituto de Salud Carlos III - Author
Red Invest Serv Salud Enfermedades Cron REDISSEC, Madrid, Spain - Author
Serv Madrileno Salud, Gerencia Asistencial Atenc Primaria, Ctr Salud Caramuel, Calle Fuenteovejuna 17, Madrid 28011, Spain - Author
Serv Madrileno Salud, Gerencia Asistencial Atenc Primaria, Ctr Salud Monovar, Calle Monovar 11, Madrid 28033, Spain - Author
Serv Madrileno Salud, Gerencia Asistencial Atenc Primaria, Ctr Salud Vicente Muzas, Calle Vicente Muzas 8, Madrid 28043, Spain - Author
Serv Madrileno Salud, Gerencia Asistencial Atenc Primaria, Unidad Apoyo Tecnico, Calle San Martin de Porres 6, Madrid 28035, Spain - Author
Univ Autonoma Barcelona, Inst Avedis Donabedian, Calle ProvenCa 293 Pral, Barcelona 08037, Spain - Author
Univ Autonoma Madrid, Dept Enfermeria, Calle Arzobispo Morcillo 4, Madrid 28029, Spain - Author
Univ Complutense Madrid, Fac Enfermeria & Podol, Dept Enfermeria, Plaza Ramon & Cajal S-N, E-28040 Madrid, Spain - Author
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid - Author
Universidad Complutense de Madrid - Author
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona - Author
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Abstract

© 2019 The Author(s). Background: Virtual communities of practice (vCoPs) facilitate online learning via the exchange of experiences and knowledge between interested participants. Compared to other communities, vCoPs need to overcome technological structures and specific barriers. Our objective was to pilot the acceptability and feasibility of a vCoP aimed at improving the attitudes of primary care professionals to the empowerment of patients with chronic conditions. Methods: We used a qualitative approach based on 2 focus groups: one composed of 6 general practitioners and the other of 6 practice nurses. Discussion guidelines on the topics to be investigated were provided to the moderator. Sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was performed using the ATLAS-ti software. Results: The available operating systems and browsers and the lack of suitable spaces and time were reported as the main difficulties with the vCoP. The vCoP was perceived to be a flexible learning mode that provided up-to-date resources applicable to routine practice and offered a space for the exchange of experiences and approaches. Conclusions: The results from this pilot study show that the vCoP was considered useful for learning how to empower patients. However, while vCoPs have the potential to facilitate learning and as shown create professional awareness regarding patient empowerment, attention needs to be paid to technological and access issues and the time demands on professionals. We collected relevant inputs to improve the features, content and educational methods to be included in further vCoP implementation. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02757781. Registered on 25 April 2016.

Keywords

EmpowermentHealthcare professional attitudesPilot studyPrimary healthcareProcesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje virtualesVirtual system

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal BMC HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2019, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Health Policy.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.09. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 1.95 (source consulted: FECYT Feb 2024)
  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 7.86 (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-07, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 14
  • Scopus: 23
  • Europe PMC: 11

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-07:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 123.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 131 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 4.35.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 5 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://repositorio.uam.es/handle/10486/688929

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Germany.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (BERMEJO CAJA, CARLOS JESUS) and Last Author (Vicente-Diez J).