Knowledge, skills, and training community health workers require to contribute to an interprofessional learning initiative
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Date
2023
Authors
Joubert, Annemarie
Reid, Marianne
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
Background
A health sciences faculty established an interprofessional learning initiative in the southern Free State, South Africa. This initiative offers learning opportunities to fourth-year students in health and rehabilitation sciences, nursing, and clinical medicine, whilst supporting rural healthcare services. The role of community health workers in this initiative is often limited to enabling students to enter the community setting. The authors presupposed that these health workers require certain knowledge, skills and training to contribute to this initiative.
Aim
To describe the knowledge, skills, and training community health workers require to contribute to a faculty of health sciences interprofessional learning initiative.
Setting
The study was conducted at the rural and university facilities of a health sciences faculty.
Methods
This qualitative study used five nominal group discussions and purposive sampling to obtain data from community health workers (n = 26), interprofessional learning students (n = 22), interprofessional learning coordinators (n = 3), and interprofessional learning facilitators (n = 5). Analysis of the multiple-group data was done according to accepted nominal group technique practices.
Findings
Five top priorities related to required knowledge, skills, and training were identified across groups. Knowledge priorities were, for example, the Road to Health chart (average 5.58), danger signs (3.63), and basic knowledge on pertinent conditions (2.82). Skills included wound care (4.17), vital signs (3.09), and communication (2.63), whilst training on health promotion (3.09), emergency (3.00) and wound care (2.92), were listed.
Contribution
The findings contribute to the development of a facilitator guide containing content tailored to enable community health workers to contribute to this interprofessional learning initiative.
Description
Keywords
Community health workers, Interprofessional learning, Knowledge, Rural, Training, Skills development
Citation
Joubert, A., & Reid, M. (2023). Knowledge, skills, and training community health workers require to contribute to an interprofessional learning initiative. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 18, 100531. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijans.2023.100531