Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Community health officers (CHOs) are a newly introduced cadre of mid‑level
health‑care providers who will man the health and wellness centers under Ayushman Bharat Mission
in India. Need‑based training will help them fulfil their role in early diagnosis, treatment, and referral
of tuberculosis (TB) patients. The present study identified the gaps in the awareness about TB in a
heterogeneous group of trainees and addressed them through need‑based training.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A before and after the study was carried out in 110 trainee CHOs at
Rural Medical College, Loni. In‑depth interviews were conducted with public health experts and focus
group discussion was conducted with trainees to gain the quality inputs. Structured questionnaires
based on training objectives specifically pertaining to TB were designed. Training was provided with
an emphasis on addressing the gaps identified in the pretest. Posttest evaluation was done at the
end of the training to assess its effectiveness. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software version.
17.0 (Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).
RESULTS: The mean pretest score was 15.15 (standard deviation [SD] = 3.55) which improved
after 6 months training to 24.01 (SD = 1.223), i.e., from 60% to 96%. There was highly significant
improvement in overall knowledge score of trainees (t = 28.124, df = 109, P < 0.001). There was
a statistically significant improvement in scores of all topics at the end of 6 months training in both
Nursing and Ayurved graduates. Except for knowledge regarding the treatment of multidrug‑resistant
TB (P = 0.004), knowledge about all other topics was comparable in nursing and Ayurved graduates
at the end.
CONCLUSIONS: Needs assessment proved effective in identifying the gaps in knowledge and skills
of interdisciplinary trainee CHOs. Medical colleges with expertise in teaching, training, and health
service provision can work with the public health system to provide a model for rapid upgrading and
capacity building to meet health‑care challenges such as TB.
Keywords
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