Development and evaluation of a rural diabetic training workshop for healthcare workers in Kilimanjaro based on findings of a needs assessment for diabetes and diabetic retinopathy screening

Development and Evaluation of a Rural Diabetic Training Workshop for HCW

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the project was to create a comprehensive, ecological, theory and evidence-based
screening program for diabetes and diabetic retinopathy to prevent avoidable blindness, using Intervention
Mapping (IM).
Methods: The training workshop for Health Care Workers (HCW) in Kilimanjaro was based on findings of a needs assessment among HCW, showing mixed levels of knowledge regarding diabetes. The trainings highlighted that the rural HCW were not trained as diabetic specialists nor were they working in specialist diabetic clinics. They faced numerous obstacles in caring for People With Diabetes (PWD) due to varying levels of knowledge amongst colleagues, nurses, and clinical officers. When giving advice to PWD about how to avoid complications very few HCW were able to adopt a holistic approach to care promoting healthy living to prevent complications. The workshops were able to take comprehensive diabetes education to the rural HCF, reducing travelling time for HCW. Facilitators focused on changing both the attitudes and knowledge of HCW.
Results: The training workshops achieved the aim of training facilitators to educate HCW on diabetes care and self-management. The workshops met the expressed request of HCW for diabetes education and provided them with the resources they requested for self-study and reference in their clinical practice. The workshops empowered the facilitators who gained experience and confidence through the course of the three years. The commitment of the team to deliver the training in rural settings was acknowledged and appreciated by the recipients. The improvement in HCW diabetes knowledge was rewarding and satisfaction with the facilitators was high; training had informed the HCW clinical practice. Highly important was the engagement of HCW as stakeholders in the program, and continued support through annual HCW training workshop and stakeholder meetings.
Conclusion: The ‘need assessment’ of both PWD and HCW in Kilimanjaro Region, the dialogue with stakeholders, and the program’s Working Committee, resulted in training workshops that are one strategy in the overall healthcare program in Kilimanjaro Region to plan, develop and implement a culturally relevant, evidence-based, theory-driven screening program for diabetic retinopathy to prevent avoidable blindness.