Training in eight low-and middle-income countries: lessons learned from a pilot study using the WHO-TDR dissemination and implementation massive open online course
IntroductionNon-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in low-and middle- income countries (LMICs). Despite this, a lack of funding, training and mentorship for NCD investigators in LMICs exists. In an effort to gain knowledge and skills to address these gaps, pa...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-01-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Health Services |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frhs.2023.1217619/full |
| _version_ | 1797351639688937472 |
|---|---|
| author | Ashlin Rakhra Cole Hooley Meredith P. Fort Mary Beth Weber LeShawndra Price Hoa L. Nguyen Manuel Ramirez Adamson S. Muula Mina Hosseinipour Kingsley Apusiga Victor Davila-Roman Joyce Gyamfi Kezia Gladys Amaning Adjei Josephine Andesia Annette Fitzpatrick Pascal Launois Ana A. Baumann |
| author_facet | Ashlin Rakhra Cole Hooley Meredith P. Fort Mary Beth Weber LeShawndra Price Hoa L. Nguyen Manuel Ramirez Adamson S. Muula Mina Hosseinipour Kingsley Apusiga Victor Davila-Roman Joyce Gyamfi Kezia Gladys Amaning Adjei Josephine Andesia Annette Fitzpatrick Pascal Launois Ana A. Baumann |
| author_sort | Ashlin Rakhra |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionNon-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in low-and middle- income countries (LMICs). Despite this, a lack of funding, training and mentorship for NCD investigators in LMICs exists. In an effort to gain knowledge and skills to address these gaps, participants from the Global Research on Implementation and Translation Science (GRIT), a consortium of studies in eight LMICs and their networks, attended the dissemination and implementation (D&I) massive open online course (MOOC) developed by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases at the World Health Organization to strengthen D&I capacity building. Here, we report on the pilot of this MOOC, which was implemented during the SARS COVID-19 pandemic from April- November 2020.MethodsParticipants completed pre-and post-training questionnaires to assess self-reported D&I competencies, general research skills, and research mentor access and quality. D&I competencies were measured by use of a scale developed for a US-based training program, with change in competency scores assessed by paired t test. We used univariate statistics to analyze the data for all other outcomes.ResultsOf the 247 participants enrolled, 32 (13%) completed all course requirements, 21 (9%) completed the pre-and post-surveys and are included in the analysis. D&I competency scores suggest improvement for those who had complete pre- and post-assessments. Trainee's average score on the full competency scale improved 1.45 points (0–5 scale) from pre- to post-test; all four subscales also showed evidence of improvements. There were small but not significant increases in competencies for grant writing, proposal/ manuscript writing and presentations from pre- to post-test assessment. 40% of trainees reported access to a research mentor and 12% reported access to a D&I specific mentor. Participants reported barriers (e.g., unstable internet access and challenges due to COVID-19) and facilitators (e.g., topical interests, collaboration with colleagues) to completing the MOOC.ConclusionsAlthough COVID-19 affected program usage and completion, the MOOC was feasible. We also had signals of effectiveness, meaning among LMIC participants completing the course, there was improvement in self-report D&I competency scores. Recommendations for future D&I trainings in LMICs include (1) adding more topic specific modules (i.e., NCD research, general research skills) for scalability; (2) fostering more collaboration with participants across LMICs; and (3) establishing partnerships with D&I mentors for course participants. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T13:03:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9a368a09752b40ad8ee6d9851691f9cd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2813-0146 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T13:03:25Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Health Services |
| spelling | doaj.art-9a368a09752b40ad8ee6d9851691f9cd2024-01-19T04:20:55ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Health Services2813-01462024-01-01310.3389/frhs.2023.12176191217619Training in eight low-and middle-income countries: lessons learned from a pilot study using the WHO-TDR dissemination and implementation massive open online courseAshlin Rakhra0Cole Hooley1Meredith P. Fort2Mary Beth Weber3LeShawndra Price4Hoa L. Nguyen5Manuel Ramirez6Adamson S. Muula7Mina Hosseinipour8Kingsley Apusiga9Victor Davila-Roman10Joyce Gyamfi11Kezia Gladys Amaning Adjei12Josephine Andesia13Annette Fitzpatrick14Pascal Launois15Ana A. Baumann16Department of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York City, NY, United StatesSchool of Social Work, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, United StatesColorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, United StatesRollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United StatesNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United StatesEpidemiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, United StatesCenter for the Prevention of Chronic Diseases -CIIPEC, Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), Guatemala City, GuatemalaCollege of Medicine, University of Malawi, Zomba, MalawiDepartment of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States0Department of Physiology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana1School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States2Global Health Program, New York University Global College of Public Health, New York City, NY, United States0Department of Physiology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Kumasi, Ghana3Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya4School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States5Research Capacity Strengthening (RCS) Unit, Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), WHO, Geneva, Switzerland6Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United StatesIntroductionNon-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in low-and middle- income countries (LMICs). Despite this, a lack of funding, training and mentorship for NCD investigators in LMICs exists. In an effort to gain knowledge and skills to address these gaps, participants from the Global Research on Implementation and Translation Science (GRIT), a consortium of studies in eight LMICs and their networks, attended the dissemination and implementation (D&I) massive open online course (MOOC) developed by the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases at the World Health Organization to strengthen D&I capacity building. Here, we report on the pilot of this MOOC, which was implemented during the SARS COVID-19 pandemic from April- November 2020.MethodsParticipants completed pre-and post-training questionnaires to assess self-reported D&I competencies, general research skills, and research mentor access and quality. D&I competencies were measured by use of a scale developed for a US-based training program, with change in competency scores assessed by paired t test. We used univariate statistics to analyze the data for all other outcomes.ResultsOf the 247 participants enrolled, 32 (13%) completed all course requirements, 21 (9%) completed the pre-and post-surveys and are included in the analysis. D&I competency scores suggest improvement for those who had complete pre- and post-assessments. Trainee's average score on the full competency scale improved 1.45 points (0–5 scale) from pre- to post-test; all four subscales also showed evidence of improvements. There were small but not significant increases in competencies for grant writing, proposal/ manuscript writing and presentations from pre- to post-test assessment. 40% of trainees reported access to a research mentor and 12% reported access to a D&I specific mentor. Participants reported barriers (e.g., unstable internet access and challenges due to COVID-19) and facilitators (e.g., topical interests, collaboration with colleagues) to completing the MOOC.ConclusionsAlthough COVID-19 affected program usage and completion, the MOOC was feasible. We also had signals of effectiveness, meaning among LMIC participants completing the course, there was improvement in self-report D&I competency scores. Recommendations for future D&I trainings in LMICs include (1) adding more topic specific modules (i.e., NCD research, general research skills) for scalability; (2) fostering more collaboration with participants across LMICs; and (3) establishing partnerships with D&I mentors for course participants.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frhs.2023.1217619/fullimplementation researchdissemination & implementation researchcapacity buildingmassive open online course (MOOC)non-communicable chronic diseases |
| spellingShingle | Ashlin Rakhra Cole Hooley Meredith P. Fort Mary Beth Weber LeShawndra Price Hoa L. Nguyen Manuel Ramirez Adamson S. Muula Mina Hosseinipour Kingsley Apusiga Victor Davila-Roman Joyce Gyamfi Kezia Gladys Amaning Adjei Josephine Andesia Annette Fitzpatrick Pascal Launois Ana A. Baumann Training in eight low-and middle-income countries: lessons learned from a pilot study using the WHO-TDR dissemination and implementation massive open online course Frontiers in Health Services implementation research dissemination & implementation research capacity building massive open online course (MOOC) non-communicable chronic diseases |
| title | Training in eight low-and middle-income countries: lessons learned from a pilot study using the WHO-TDR dissemination and implementation massive open online course |
| title_full | Training in eight low-and middle-income countries: lessons learned from a pilot study using the WHO-TDR dissemination and implementation massive open online course |
| title_fullStr | Training in eight low-and middle-income countries: lessons learned from a pilot study using the WHO-TDR dissemination and implementation massive open online course |
| title_full_unstemmed | Training in eight low-and middle-income countries: lessons learned from a pilot study using the WHO-TDR dissemination and implementation massive open online course |
| title_short | Training in eight low-and middle-income countries: lessons learned from a pilot study using the WHO-TDR dissemination and implementation massive open online course |
| title_sort | training in eight low and middle income countries lessons learned from a pilot study using the who tdr dissemination and implementation massive open online course |
| topic | implementation research dissemination & implementation research capacity building massive open online course (MOOC) non-communicable chronic diseases |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frhs.2023.1217619/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ashlinrakhra trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse AT colehooley trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse AT meredithpfort trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse AT marybethweber trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse AT leshawndraprice trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse AT hoalnguyen trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse AT manuelramirez trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse AT adamsonsmuula trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse AT minahosseinipour trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse AT kingsleyapusiga trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse AT victordavilaroman trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse AT joycegyamfi trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse AT keziagladysamaningadjei trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse AT josephineandesia trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse AT annettefitzpatrick trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse AT pascallaunois trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse AT anaabaumann trainingineightlowandmiddleincomecountrieslessonslearnedfromapilotstudyusingthewhotdrdisseminationandimplementationmassiveopenonlinecourse |