Online Faculty Development in low- and middle-income countries for Health Professions Educators: A rapid realist review

Abstract

Background Health professions educators require support to develop teaching and learning, research, educational leadership, and administrative skills to strengthen their higher education role through faculty development initiatives. Where administration has pursued face-to-face and online faculty development initiatives, results have positively influenced health professions educators. There is limited evidence demonstrating how online faculty development works for health professions educators in low- and middle-income countries who engage in online health professions education (HPE) faculty development. Methods A Conjecture Map for online HPE faculty development courses identified candidate theories for a rapid realist review. The Conjecture Map and candidate theories, Community of Inquiry and the Conversational Framework guided the development of search terms and analysis for this review. Three searches using EbscoHost databases yielded 1 030 abstracts. A primary and secondary research team participated in a multi-reviewer blinded process in assessing abstracts, selecting full-text articles, and data extraction. The primary research team analysed eight articles for this rapid realist review to answer the research question: How do online HPE faculty development courses work, or not work, in low- and middle-income countries? Data were analysed and mapped to the initial Conjecture Map and the research question. Results The research references US-based organisations forming partnerships with low- and middle-income countries, and who provide funding for online HPE faculty development initiatives. These initiatives design courses that facilitate learning through engagement from which participants report beneficial outcomes of professional and career development. The review does not clarify if the reported outcomes are generalisable for facilitators from low-and middle-income countries. The findings of this review demonstrate the role of a community of practice as the dominant mechanism through which the outcomes are achieved, based on a design that incorporates six triggering events. The design aligns the triggering events with the three categories of the Community of Inquiry—a theory for designing online learning environments. Conclusion Health professions educators in low- and middle-income countries can develop professional and interpersonal skills through a well-designed, specifically constructed online community that prioritises active discussion.

A model for design of online health professions education faculty development courses in sub-Saharan Africa

“…Next, three independent studies were conducted to develop the model for designing online courses. In the initial theory-building study, the authors conducted a rapid realist review testing the pre-designed conjecture map to identify the context, mechanism and outcomes of such courses in low and middle-income countries [ 6 ]. Using the data from this review, the authors refined the map to reflect six triggering events identified from the results for positive outcomes.…”

“…Factors, including funding limitations, pressing health priorities and access, are not uniform across low- and middle-income countries [ 5 ]. Regardless, the theoretical and contextual grounding of the design of online courses has not received significant attention [ 3 , 6 , 7 ].…”

“…The evidence on the implementation and success of online faculty development courses for HPE in sub-Saharan Africa does not fully incorporate the local geographical gaze [ 8 ] and omits the aforementioned contextual factors [ 6 , 7 , 9 , 10 ]. This study argues that models for designing faculty development courses should enhance their usability and feasibility [ 2 , 11 ].…”

“…All models evolve from hypothetical structures [ 17 ] to specific structures within contexts. The feasibility of implementing models requires clarity and alignment to context-specific issues such as funding decisions, curricular decisions and technology [ 6 ]. While the authors are aware of the implications for low-and-middle-income countries being strongly linked to developing a community of practice [ 6 ], the nuances in these implied geographical contexts are likely to be varied.…”

“…The feasibility of implementing models requires clarity and alignment to context-specific issues such as funding decisions, curricular decisions and technology [ 6 ]. While the authors are aware of the implications for low-and-middle-income countries being strongly linked to developing a community of practice [ 6 ], the nuances in these implied geographical contexts are likely to be varied. Therefore, the design of models should embrace empirical evidence of the educational value in context to ensure that both researchers and faculty development practitioners can address the issues mentioned above [ 18 ].…”