Effectiveness of an educational program for mid-level Japanese public health nurses to improve program planning competencies: A preliminary randomized control trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of an education program for mid-level Japanese public health nurses (PHNs) to improve their competencies in program planning, which will fulfill community health needs. DESIGN: Randomized control trial. SAMPLE: During 2017, 103 PHNs with 5-20 years of PHN work experience in Japan were enrolled and randomly allocated to the intervention (n = 51) or control group (n = 52). MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome measured competency in program planning based on Competency Measurement of Creativity for PHNs (CMC), knowledge, and skills regarding program planning. INTERVENTION: Six web-based learning modules followed by two face-to-face group sessions. RESULTS: The PHN participants averaged about 12 years of experience. In the intervention group, 25 PHNs completed all modules (49.0%). Post intervention, there were no statistically significant differences among any between-group CMC scores. However, the intervention group's CMC 3 score was significantly higher than that of the control group of ≥12 years of experience. Total knowledge and skill scores also improved significantly in the intervention group compared with the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that PHNs with ≥12 years of experience are a suitable target of this educational program, and should play a key role in program planning.

Educational program for middle-level public health nurses to develop new health services regarding community health needs: protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Developing health services is a key strategy for improving the community health provided by public health nurses. However, an effective educational program for improving their skills in planning such services has not been developed. To describe our program and its evaluation protocol for the education of middle-level public health nurses to improve their skills in developing new health services to fulfil community health needs in Japan. METHODS: In this randomized control trial, eligible participants in Japan will be randomly allocated to an intervention group and a control wait-list group. We will provide 8 modules of web-based learning for public health nurses from July to October 2018. To ensure fairness of educational opportunity, the wait-list group will participate in the same program as the intervention group after collection of follow-up data of the intervention group. The primary outcomes will be evaluated using the scale of competency measurement of creativity for public health nurses at baseline, immediately after the intervention. Secondary outcomes will be knowledge and performance regarding program development of public health nurses. DISCUSSION: This study will enable the analysis of the effects of the educational program on public health nurses for improving their competency to develop new health services for fulfilling community health needs and enriching health care systems. TRIAL REGISTRATION: We registered our study protocol to the University hospital Medical Information Network- Clinical Trials Registry approved by International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (No. UMIN000032176, April, 2018).

Feasibility of an educational program for public health nurses to promote local healthcare planning: protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Promoting of local healthcare planning is crucial for assisting public health nurses in improving community health inequities. However, there is no effective educational program for developing relevant skills and knowledge among these nurses. Therefore, this study aims to assess the feasibility of a newly developed web-based self-learning program to promote the involvement of public health nurses in the local healthcare planning process. METHODS: A pilot randomized control trial randomly allocated eligible public health nurses to intervention and control wait-list groups [1:1]. The former will be exposed to six web-based learning modules from July to October 2021. After collecting post-test data, the wait-list group will be exposed to the same modules to ensure learning equity. The primary outcome will be evaluated by implementing a validated and standardized scale designed to measure public health policy competencies at the baseline and post-intervention, while secondary outcome will be measured on an action scale to demonstrate the necessity of healthcare activities. The third outcome will be the knowledge and skills related to local healthcare planning by public health nurses. The participants will provide feedback through free descriptions on the trial feasibility and a web-based self-learning program to identify improvement points for continual refinement. DISCUSSION: The results will provide suggestions in preparation for a future definitive randomized controlled trial. This will provide preliminary data for an intervention aimed at improving relevant competencies among public health nurses who are tasked with resolving health inequities in their respective communities through local health planning. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The protocol for this study was registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry and approved by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (No. UMIN000043628 , March 23, 2021).