Building Capacity of Health Professionals in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Through Online Continuing Professional Development in Nutrition

Abstract

Continuing professional development (CPD) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) can build capacity of health professionals in infant and young child feeding (IYCF). However, travel to in-person workshops can be time-consuming and expensive. Thus, we developed a free online course to provide training in IYCF to health professionals globally; the course received overwhelmingly high numbers of registrations. Our aim was to conduct a program evaluation to assess course satisfaction, learning, and application using surveys administered postcourse and 9 months later. Response rates were 99% (n = 835) and 55% (n = 312), respectively. Among those who only partially completed the course, reasons for noncompletion were assessed (response rate 29%, n = 72). Data within a 1-year period were analyzed. Respondents worked in multiple settings and organizations worldwide. Nearly all (99%) reported postcourse that they learned "a lot" or "some" from all topics, and over 70% applied "a lot" of or "some" information 9 months later. In open-ended questions, respondents reported improved knowledge, skills, and competence to conduct their work; they also desired more similar training courses. Many who did not complete the course reported "not enough time" as the main reason (74%), and most (94%) wanted to continue it. The positive response to the course suggests there is an unmet need for CPD for health professionals in LMICs. Our evaluation found that online training was feasible, acceptable, and increased professionals' knowledge and application of IYCF concepts in nutrition programming. Increased use of online CPD offers the potential for global capacity-building in other health-related topics.