Prospective study on the organization and efficiency of online journal club

Background. Journal clubs (JCs) are a popular education format. Interest in studying their impact is high, and authors often report positive results related to subjective parameters. Objective assessments of effectiveness are limited and contradictory. In this paper, we share our experience and describe our journal club effectiveness. Methods. We conducted a prospective cohort study within our online journal club. Meetings followed a discussion-based format and were held via Zoom, with timing and topics determined by voting in the club Telegram chat. Enrolment occurred in waves and included an application, entry test, and interview. During each recruitment wave, both club members (treatment group) and applicants (control) completed an admission test assessing knowledge of evidence-based medicine and statistics. Results. The JC currently comprises 27 members. Over the past year, 76 meetings were held, with 75% of participants grading their experience with 9 or 10 on a ten-point scale. Multivariate analysis demonstrated non-significantly results (SMD = 0.19 (95% CI 0.004; 0.38), p = 0.046) among participants. However, in other adjusted models, differences between groups were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion. While the analysis of the subjective outcomes is consistent with findings from previous studies, the objective outcomes remain inconclusive. Further research is needed to refine the methodology for the organization and evaluation of journal clubs.