Educational strategies for human resources in home health care: 8 years’ experience from Brazil

Abstract

Objective. To analyze characteristics, enrollments and completion rates of healthcare professionals enrolled in Self-Instructional Online Courses of the Home Health Care Multicentre Qualification Program, developed by the Ministry of Health and the Universidade Aberta do SUS (UNASUS), and its relationship with Home Health Care Teams implementation. Methods. Data were extracted from the Self-Instructional Online Courses’ UNASUS enrollment platform database (2012-2018), cross-referenced with the Health Facilities’ National Database and compared to Home Care General Coordination team’s database. Main outcomes were completion rates and number of courses enrollments, analyzed by sex, age, region, location, profession, workplace, health teams and course type. Results. Men applied to courses slightly more than women and completion rates were higher (37.1 vs 30.5, p < 0.001); there was a small decline in completion rates by age groups (from 32.8% in 18-29 yr to 31.1% in 46-50 yr age group, p < 0.001) and a rise in course enrollment number, probably related to progressively “digital native” generations. Self-Instructional Online Courses were attended in all Brazilian states and reached all municipality sizes, with completion rates rising from 29.9% in the North to 37.3 in the South; 30-hour courses were completed by almost twice as many professionals as 45-hour and 60-hour courses, suggesting that modularity may improve completion rates. State distribution and national coverage suggest adequate range and coincidence between enrollment and Home Health Care Teams distribution. Conclusions. Regional aspects influence professional interaction with courses; the feminization of health professions and women’s lower completion rates suggest the need for a deeper gender perspective in health facilities and training services. Self- Instructional Online Courses for Home Health Care were an important outreach strategy, with professional’s doubts answered more contextually.

Distance learning course improves primary care dentists’ diagnosis and self-efficacy in the management of oral lesions

“…[9][10][11] A study has shown that continuing education courses on oropharyngeal cancer led to improvement in some outcomes related to the subject matter, such as knowledge, performance, and confidence. 12 In Brazil, TelessaúdeRS/UFRGS and the Open University of Brazilian National Health System (UNA-SUS), both initiatives of the Ministry of Health, have promoted DL courses, [13][14][15][16] with positive evaluation by their participants. 13 These approaches appear to be useful to target the different professions involved in primary care, addressing specific needs for continuing education.…”