Abstract
The authors describe the effect of online analytic and technical skills training tools on professional development and practice. Three questions were addressed: (1) Will maternal and child health and other public health professionals register for and engage in online training opportunities? (2) Was this mode of instruction perceived to be an effective means for learning specific skills? and (3) What was the impact of the tools on user knowledge, confidence, practice, and sharing of skills with colleagues? Evaluating open-enrollment online training posed significant challenges. Nonetheless, registration data and the responses to the online surveys affirmed that the opportunity for asynchronous, online learning was an effective means for learning specific skills.
The increasing disparity between the challenges faced by maternal and child health professionals and their capacity to meet those challenges has been well documented. 1 One strategy for closing this gap, in the face of diminishing resources, is to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the public health workforce, particularly through the development of skills in data collection, and the use of these data for program monitoring and evaluation. 2 Distance education is an increasingly important component of this strategy. In fact, "failure to use advanced technology to its full potential, primarily the failure to provide training," has been cited as a barrier to strengthening the public health workforce. 3
The goal of the Data Skills Online (DSO) project was to strengthen the analytic and technical skills of the Maternal and Child Health workforce through online delivery of self-instructional, on-demand, on-the-job training for maternal and child health (MCH) and other public health professionals. Self-instructional tools addressed an array of technical and analytic skills.
In this article, we describe the effect of online analytic and technical skills training tools on professional development and practice. Specifically, we addressed three questions.
1. Will MCH and other public health professionals register for and engage in online training opportunities?
2. Was this mode of instruction perceived to be an effective means for learning specific skills?
3. What was the effect of the tools on user knowledge, confidence, practice, and reinforcement for sharing skills with colleagues?