The effect of continuing professional education on health care outcomes: lessons for dementia care

Background: This review presents an overview of the published literature on the effectiveness of continuing professional education (CPE), which includes continuing medical education (CME) of different health care professionals in healthcare settings, for improving patient management and patient outcomes. This review summarizes key articles published on the subject, including those relating to dementia care. Methods: A literature search was carried out using the National Library of Medicine's PubMed database, Cochrane database and Eric databases. Results: Studies on CPE generally provide conflicting evidence on their effectiveness in bringing about a change in professional practices and healthcare outcomes. However interactive, multifaceted interventions, and interventions with repeated inputs appear more effective in bringing about positive changes than traditional non-interactive techniques. There are relatively few studies specifically concerning CPE and dementia care. Conclusion: This review shows that CPE in dementia care needs to be targeted carefully. Much can be learnt from examining education approaches in the wider professional and medical education literature.