Hema Divakar*, Sheetal Joshi, Pallavi SP, Poorni Narayanan, Poornima R and Gubbi Venkatasubbaiah Divakar
Background: Anemia is a widespread global health concern impacting more than half of Indian population. As a part of the Anemia Mukt Bharat Initiative, the Asian Research and Training Institute for Skill Transfer (ARTIST) has designed an e-learning curriculum, offering accessible and interactive training to frontline health workers. In this respect, this study aims to assess the effectiveness of the e-learning course specifically for Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and Frontline Healthcare Workers (FHCWs).
Methods: A pilot study with 50 participants included pre-training and post-training assessments. The training involved a comprehensive online course offered in batches of Tamil, English, and Kannada from May 2023 to October 2023. The assessment comprised of a 50-item questionnaire based on diagnosis, treatment, and counseling for anemia. Participant feedback on the training was also collected.
Results: This study included 50 participants, comprising females with an average age of 38.65. The preliminary assessment displayed an average score of 76.3%, which exhibited a pronounced increase to 91.1% following the training phase (p<0.001). Substantial shifts in knowledge were evident across various domains, including the identification and classification of anemia severity (58%), comprehension of oral and injectable iron doses (55%), awareness of side effects (42%), provision of dietary recommendations (48%), and explanation of the impact of anemia on both the mother and the baby (39%). About 96% of participants successfully passed the HSSC certification exam after completing the course. In terms of course feedback, 94% of participants perceived the training material as clear and comprehensible, 92% found it engaging, 96% were satisfied with the training delivery, and 98% expressed willingness to recommend this training.
Conclusion: The findings of this study validate the feasibility and efficacy of this virtual learning module in arming healthcare practitioners with an understanding of anemia. Findings suggest the replication of this study augmenting the sample size, with a focus on HCWs in rural areas.
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