Enhancing Kenya’s Community Health Using Co-created Tricky Topics for Evidence-Based Blended Training (EBBT)
Stages in Impact Pilot methods
Conduct initial impact survey to identify broad community needs and issues and key ‘tricky topics’ & benchmark for comparison with impact evidence (M1 and M10).
Face-to-face and online training event – to support the development of ‘champions’ with understanding of relevant health information handling to solve community needs (M3- M4)
Face-to-face and online tricky topics co-creation event for online learning materials, through the tricky topics process, with ‘champions’. (M3 – M4)
Implementation of further, in-situ training of CHWs by champions, using ‘community hubs’ as a technical point for support providing scalable access. Mobile resources used by champions in the community to establish community hubs supported by e-campus (M5 – M10).
Follow on survey and social media impact capturing to establish changes in community (M5 – M10)
Follow on policy and process impact testimonial capturing (M11 – M12)
Expected Impact 1
- Improved community training increasing health seeking behaviour
- Survey of practices (base-line compared to post intervention activities)
- Evidence captured using analytics from weekly champion impact ‘Whatsapp’ group flash-events
- Participatory video testimonials of health seeking behaviours
- Capturing changes to decision maker meetings / reviews / practice documents
Expected Impact 2
Improved community engagement and empowerment
Weekly evidence on WhatsApp - short account of ‘my changing practice’, ‘most effective change’, ‘most valuable activity’ – Collated and overview shared back to group.Weekly submission of photo to group showing what I’m doing differently, New contexts for help – collated and shared with champions.Testimonials (video and written accounts) from champions of significant change in practices for other CHWs
capturing changes to decision maker meetings / reviews / practice documents
Expected Impact 3
Promotion of effective community behaviours
comparison of pre and post tricky topic process / material / champion support community health and Tricky Topic survey evidence for benchmark of pre-activity levels with follow up survey to establish changes
With an appropriate time-period support to establish initial changes, understanding that practices take time to create impacts and that there may only be indication of trends at this point.
Expected Impact 4
Improved government awareness and resource provision
Pre and post survey to healthcare workers. Testimonials from local community health directorate of changes to allocation for better transport, training and health facilities for ease of accessibility to health services.
Conclusion
This study identifies opportunities to train CHWs more cost-effectively through technology-enabled multimedia content that leverages visuals, videos, or audio.
It highlights the potential to create open, easily sharable digital content that could act as a crucial ingredient for new approaches to training and learning in the future.
Interdisciplinary delivery of a train the trainer ‘champion’ delivery model for co-created Tricky Topics led e-learning design of training resources and networks
Training of CHWs more cost-effectively through technology-enabled multimedia content that leverages visuals, videos, or audio
Potential to create open, easily sharable digital content that could act as a crucial ingredient for new approaches to training and learning in the future.
The Role of Different Partners
Open University is funding the research Both OU & MU to provide researchers to engage with health practitioners and health volunteers on the objectives of the study by collecting, analysing and reporting the research outcomes.The eCampus will provide the local technological support to researchers both at university level and in the community through co-design of innovative methods for training of health volunteers in the community. Kisumu West and Nyakach Public Health Offices are in charge of the Community Health Volunteers and their focal persons (CHAs) thus linking project to community and therefore are the implementing partner