Jon Salmanton-García, Lena Siewert, Malcolm Richardson, Antonio Vena
Structured digital programs achieve wide global reach and sustained engagement. Strong participation in long-form sessions supports implementing CME accreditation and unrestricted on-demand access to enhance global health equity.
OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the 2025 ESCMID-EFISG webinar series to assess digital education as a scalable, equitable model for global professional development in medical mycology.
METHODS: This observational study analyzed Zoom metadata across 17 webinars (January-December 2025). Metrics included registration, unique viewers, peak concurrent views, attendance rate, and duration.
RESULTS: The series recorded 4,631 registrations and 1,372 unique participants. Median live attendance was 199 (IQR 138-269), with a 39.3% attendance rate (IQR 33.7-47.5%) and peak concurrent viewership of 165 (IQR 106-229). Median session duration was 108 minutes. Webinars engaged a median of 60 countries (range 26-89) simultaneously, spanning 128 countries globally. Faculty comprised 67 unique experts from 23 countries with balanced gender representation (52.8% men, 47.2% women), of whom 16.4% (n=11/67) were affiliated with institutions in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).
CONCLUSIONS: Structured digital programs achieve wide global reach and sustained engagement. Strong participation in long-form sessions supports implementing CME accreditation and unrestricted on-demand access to enhance global health equity.