Implementation of an online-based JICA Knowledge Co-Creation Program on capacity development among African community health professionals
- VernacularTitle:JICA課題別研修におけるアフリカ地域保健人材を対象とした遠隔研修の実施
- Author:
Koji KANDA
1
;
Toshihiro ITOH
2
;
Tomoko FUJII
2
;
Sachiko SHIOKAWA
2
;
Takahiko YOSHIDA
1
Author Information
- Keywords: Africa; Capacity development; Community health; Distance learning; Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
- From:Journal of International Health 2022;37(4):211-221
- CountryJapan
- Language:Japanese
- Abstract: Introduction Asahikawa Medical University has been conducting a JICA Knowledge Co-Creation Program (KCCP) “Health Administration for Community Health Officers in Africa” in Japan since 2008. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the KCCP in 2020 was a hybrid of distance learning and following on-site training in Japan, which the latter was canceled thereafter. This paper reports on how this hybrid program was organized and implemented.Methods: Preparation The program was held in January-February 2021, with eight official participants from five countries and nine observers from two countries. The participants were required to engage in self-learning by PowerPoint materials with lecturers’ audio descriptions and zoom-based interactive meetings. The PowerPoint materials were freely accessible at our Google Drive account. There were 10 zoom sessions during the program.Results: Implementation At the beginning, all the lecture materials were converted to mp4 clips and uploaded to a Youtube channel due to the difficulties downloading heavy files with limited internet connection. A total of 24 videos were created with an average length of 58 minutes in each. Zoom-based interactive meetings were held regularly in the morning in the African continent. Almost all of the sessions were productive, but the participants were sometimes interrupted due to a weak network environment or their regular work assignments. Most provided contents were well understood.Discussion Despite some technical and environmental difficulties, the new-style, web-based training course facilitated the participation of observers as well as regular participants, providing more opportunities for interaction and discussion among trainees than a previous old-fashioned, on-site program. Improvement of the training environment particularly for participants is necessary to produce better training outcomes in the future, such as renting a hotel room and securing virtual connections.
