Evaluating the Impact of a Medical Consortium-Based Continuing Medical Education Program on Improving COPD Knowledge Among Primary Care Physicians in Jinjiang District, Chengdu: A Pre-Post Intervention Study

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is highly prevalent in China, and primary care providers are responsible for early detection, standardized management, and long-term follow‑up. Their professional capacity directly affects COPD control. Aims: To evaluate whether a medical consortium–based continuing medical education (CME) program improves COPD-related knowledge, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and health education skills among primary care providers. Methods: A single-arm pre–post intervention study was conducted among 296 primary care staff in Jinjiang District, Chengdu, from September 2023 to December 2024. All participants completed a standardized COPD CME program delivered through a tertiary hospital-led medical consortium. A validated questionnaire was used to measure diagnostic ability, therapeutic ability, prevention and management ability, and total COPD knowledge before and after training. Comparisons across age, working years, professional background, and COPD patient contact frequency were analyzed using independent t-test and one-way ANOVA. Paired t-test was used for pre–post comparison. Results: Baseline competencies differed significantly by age, seniority, specialty, and COPD patient contact frequency (all P<0.05). After training, total COPD knowledge improved from 8.57±1.13 to 13.00±1.37 (t=42.990, P<0.001). All three competency domains were significantly enhanced (all P<0.001). Conclusions: A medical consortium–based CME program effectively improves COPD‑related knowledge and clinical skills among primary care providers. This model is feasible for scaling up to strengthen primary care capacity for chronic respiratory diseases.