Use of a canadian online public health professional development program in the caribbean

Objectives:

To assess the use of a Canadian Skills Online public health professional development program delivered online for health workers in the Caribbean.

Method:

The Public Health Agency of Canada’s Skills Online program is an Internet-based, continuing education program offering a series of modules in English and French to front-line public health professionals. Since 2007, Skills Online has worked with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to offer the first three modules to practitioners in the Caribbean. The eight-week, facilitated modules cover basic epidemiologic concepts, health status measurement and epidemiologic methods. The learners were enrolled  in Caribbean cohorts with Canadian facilitators. We assessed the adaptation to the Caribbean context through post-module learner surveys, in-depth interviews with key organizational representatives and participants, and focus groups with facilitators.

Results:

To date, 34 Caribbean learners from 11 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean have  successfully completed one or more modules, with an overall successful completion rate of 65%. Seventy-four percent of learners responded to the evaluation survey and were overwhelmingly positive. Important issues that emerged from the survey study included problems of connectivity and workplace support; however, the content was found to be relevant, challenging and applicable to the learner’s day-to-day work. The online modality was well received as an alternative to travel. The use of Caribbean cohorts was deemed conducive to appropriate learning.

Conclusion:

The Skills Online program appears to be a useful tool for public health professional development in the Caribbean. Ongoing adaptation of the program to this setting should include local examples, use of local facilitators, awareness of cultural differences which may affect the pedagogical approach, and a high degree of organizational support to participants. The potential exists to adapt and offer the program through one or more Caribbean Institutions in collaboration with PAHO’s Virtual Campus  for Public Health.