Leveraging existing virtual platform for training medical officers on Non-Communicable Diseases; an experience from Bihar, India

Abstract

Background: The state of Bihar in India has high prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). A NCDs training program using virtual platform was implemented for medical officers posted at public health facilities from two districts of Bihar.   Aims & Objectives: The aim of this analysis was to evaluate the effectiveness of a pilot NCDs training program in improving the knowledge of Medical officers using virtual platform.   Material & Methods: A secondary analysis of pre-post NCDs training data was undertaken. A structured knowledge assessment tool (KAT) was used to assess the knowledge of participants before and after completion of training. Also, post-training participant’s feedback was collected using a “Likert scale”. Statistical analysis: Median pre-post KAT scores were calculated and compared for statistical significance using “Wilcoxon Signed Rank test”. The proportions of participants satisfied with training were also calculated. Results: The pre-post KAT scores for diabetes, hypertension and CAD were ranked, analysed and found to be statistically significant (p < .001). Overall 94% of the participants were satisfied with the virtual training on NCDs. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the NCDs training using virtual platform significantly improved the knowledge of medical officers and was found to be highly acceptable by them.