[Annual meeting of the German Society for Rheumatology going virtual-successfully defying the pandemic]. / Deutscher Rheumatologiekongress virtuell ­ erfolgreich tagen trotz Pandemie.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic led to the annual meeting of the German Society for Rheumatology (DGRh) being conducted as the virtual German Rheumatology Congress. AIM: How is the virtual German Rheumatology Congress accepted and what are the possibilities of optimization for the future? MATERIAL AND METHOD: The registered participants were asked to take part in an online congress evaluation. RESULTS: Of 2566 congress attendees, 721 participated in the evaluation. The majority (80.2%) were (very) satisfied with the event overall. Compared to the traditional format collegial exchange was perceived as worse using the virtual approach. The technology platform was predominantly described as easy to use and easily accessible. The selected topics of the congress met the expectations of 89% of the participants. The presented contents were estimated to be relevant for their professional activities by 85.2% of the participants. The majority of participants (85.3%) would welcome the congress contents to be permanently available on demand. DISCUSSION: Overall, the participants appreciated the virtual format of the German Rheumatology Congress. Optimization aspects could be shown and these could be considered in the implementation of further (digital) congresses. The results of this work provide suggestions for improvement on how the DGRh can meet and exceed the needs of participants in organizing a virtual or hybrid conference in the future.