Leveraging Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to Support Public Health Workforce Communications and Capacity Development in Central America

Research was the key approach in gathering - and then disseminating - information about this public health strategy. Organisers conducted a country assessment of the health communication and marketing capacity in Guatemala and the surrounding region. Laboratory biosafety was selected because of the importance of the topic and lack of appropriate training for the region. To determine whether the local public health systems could benefit from existing tools to disseminate information to the public health workforce, organisers developed an e-learning programme that incorporates health communication components. Then, an additional needs assessment was conducted (through interviews with professional and technical staff and an online survey to collegiate professionals) to finalise the subject matter for the training, and to determine the appropriate delivery method. A draft training product on biosafety, in both CD-ROM and web-based formats, was developed.

Results from the pilot evaluation were used to finalise the training course, which is designed for personnel working in public and private laboratories in Guatemala and Central America (professional and technical), and students majoring in related fields. The purpose is to strengthen their knowledge of the basic biosafety norms applied in a daily laboratory setting, to convey the importance of different methods for disinfection and sterilisation within the laboratory, and to explain the importance and use of personal protection equipment. The e-learning course - in 3 modules - is available online here. It covers basic contents and presents options for in-depth study of specific themes and applicable alternatives adapted to particular contexts. Each module includes: an introduction to the theme (designed in the form of a dialogue between two characters), a list of objectives, contents, exercises involving activities and case studies, links to additional documents, printable material, and tips containing questions and answers by the characters. The course provides learning activities and tests throughout the different modules; upon satisfactory completion of the final exam, all trainees are awarded a course certificate. Organisers explain that all materials are original and culturally appropriate for the region.

In addition to accessing the biosafety course in an online version, visitors to the project website may participate in a blog about biosafety and a survey about the course. 

A communications and marketing plan has been drafted in an attempt to guide efforts to market the training to the public health workforce and public health leaders, and to ensure its dissemination and use by the audience the project intends to reach. Biosafety kits, printed signs, paper brochures, and white coats with the biosafety logo (reading "La bioseguridad es mi responsabilidad", or "Biosafety is my responsibility") were produced. Future evaluation activities are planned to assess implementation fidelity, training impact on knowledge and skills taught in the workplace, and return on investment. In addition, organisers are working with International Emerging Infections Program (IEIP)/Global Disease Detection (GDD) influenza programmes to develop new project distance-learning modules for rapid response teams and outbreak investigations (clinical specimen collection, laboratory diagnostics, and personal protective equipment). A collaborative effort is also underway with the CDC Office of Health and Safety (OHS) to produce a module on Biosafety Cabinets.

Health, Risk Management.

As of February 2009, the course had been featured in presentations at seminars, workshops, and scientific fairs, as well as distributed to: universities in Guatemala, private laboratories in Guatemala; professional associations (continuing education credit programmes); Central/National Laboratories and their laboratory networks in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama; surveillance and sentinel laboratories (for influenza) in the same countries; HIV/AIDS laboratories in the region; and laboratories in Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Spain.