Examining the effectiveness of a training program on improving knowledge, functional skills, and attitude in natural disaster volunteers.

Introduction: Disaster relief volunteers must have certain psychological and cognitive characteristics. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the training program on improving knowledge, functional skills, and attitude among disaster volunteers. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2023 in Iran, including an intervention and control group and follow-ups. Ninety health volunteers were randomly selected and divided into two groups of 45. The experimental group received the training program for an hour a week for three months. The control group received no intervention. The participants of both groups completed the disaster preparedness questionnaire at the pre-test, post-test, and one and three months after the intervention. Data was analyzed using SPSS "version 26" software in the methods section. Results: The intervention effect were significant in increasing the volunteers' functional skills (F = 3.75), knowledge (F = 166.50), and attitude (F = 1.74), all in (p = 0.001). According to the results, this effect was stable over time for functional skills (F = 1.83) and knowledge (F = 18.04) all in (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Training programs can help improve skills, attitudes and knowledge in natural disaster volunteers. Researchers interested in the field of natural disaster relief, particularly health researchers, could consider further examining the aforementioned topics in their studies.

Volunteers, religious communities and users representatives as an alternative for visiting hospitalized patients: The importance of an infection control training.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the suspension of relatives' visits was a common measure in healthcare facilities to prevent the spread of the virus among patients. This measure caused significant adverse consequences for hospitalized patients. Volunteers' intervention was an alternative but could also lead to cross transmission events. AIMS: in order to secure their intervention with patients, we implemented an infection control training to evaluate and to improve the knowledge of volunteers about infection control measures. METHOD: We performed a before-after study in a group of five tertiary referral teaching hospitals in the suburbs of Paris. A total of 226 volunteers from three groups (religious representatives, civilian volunteers and users' representatives) were included. Basic theoretical and practical knowledge about infection control, hand hygiene, and glove and mask use were evaluated just before and immediately after a three-hour training program. The contribution of the characteristics of the volunteers to the results was studied. FINDINGS: The initial conformity rate for theoretical and practical infection control measures ranged from 53% to 68%, depending on the participants' activity status and education level. Some critical shortcomings in hand hygiene as well as mask and glove wearing putatively endangered the patients and volunteers. Surprisingly, serious gaps were also identified among volunteers who experienced care activities. Regardless of their origin, the program significantly improved both their theoretical and practical knowledge (p<0.001). Real-life observance and long-term sustainability should be monitored. CONCLUSIONS: To become a secure alternative to relatives' visits, volunteers' interventions must be preceded by the assessment of their theoretical knowledge and practical skills in infection control. Additional study, including practice audit, must confirm the implementation of the acquired knowledge in the real-life.

Medical Reserve Corps Volunteers' Characteristics Affect Disaster Survival.

OBJECTIVE: Medical Reserve Corps' volunteers underwent stop-the-bleed, triage, and disaster preparedness training to improve victim survival of a mass casualty event. METHODS: Volunteer responses to 16 disaster vignettes were recorded as 'survived' if correct, or 'died' if incorrect. Volunteers' characteristics were evaluated based on the health outcomes of the vignette victims via logistic regression. RESULTS: Overall, 69 volunteers evaluated 1104 vignette victims. STB training significantly improved survival from 77.2% to 93.2% (P < 0.001). The training did not improve disaster preparedness (75.5% to 73%) nor triage (33.5% to 35.1%). Volunteer first care provider training in psychological first aid improved victim survival from 10.32 (9.6 - 10.9, 95% CI) to 11.9 (11.28 - 12.5, 95% CI). The odds of survival increased when disaster victims received first care from a volunteer who had a positive perception of the public authority's truthfulness (1.50, range 1.07 - 2.10); stated a willingness to volunteer (1.65, range 1.2 - 2.26); completed psychological first aid training (1.557, range 1.08 - 2.22); or had 4-or-more years of post-secondary education (1.30, range 1.00 - 1.701). CONCLUSION: Psychological first aid training should be a basic requirement for disaster volunteers. Trust in public authority to provide protective public health recommendations increases disaster survival.

Development and Evaluation of Neighborhood Care Volunteer Training Programs-Preparing for Older Adult Community Care in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of chronic diseases and functional disorders is projected to escalate as the older adult population increases. Thus, the demand for and burdens of long-term care are increasing. Training middle-aged and older volunteers at the community level will enhance health promotion and disease prevention in communities. PURPOSE: In this study, multilevel volunteer training programs and related implementation methods were designed for neighborhood caregivers. METHODS: This study was divided into two phases. In Phase 1, an expert review was conducted using the modified Delphi method to congregate expert opinions into an interdisciplinary consensus and establish the content and methods of implementation of the multilevel training program. In Phase 2, the training programs were implemented and evaluated. RESULTS: In Phase 1, 17 experts in geriatric and long-term care were enrolled in the Delphi surveys. Consensus was defined as at least 80% agreement. These experts devised volunteer training programs for neighborhood caregivers at three levels: basic caregiver training, advanced caregiver training, and volunteer caregiver instructor training. The curriculum focused on fulfilling the health demands of neighborhood care; adopted disability-prevention and disability-delaying healthcare as the basic framework; and referred to the attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction model of motivational design. This model of motivational design drew on the attributes of volunteers and the current state of care programs, including interest, program difficulty, and feasibility of future services. In Phase 2, 50 community middle-aged and older volunteers enrolled in the training programs and, after completing the program, were asked to evaluate their satisfaction with the program content and program effectiveness. A high level of satisfaction was reported across all three levels. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The training programs achieved satisfactory consistency and convergence and were well received by the volunteer trainees. These programs may be referenced in the development of future training programs and the creation of a model of community healthcare services. The curriculum was designed from the learners' perspective with direct healthcare applications. A progressive multilevel set of neighborhood care volunteer training programs was offered to cultivate community volunteers.

Dissecação anatômica como estratégia para o estudo do sistema neural em fetos humanos / Anatomic dissection as a strategy for the study of the neural system in fetuses / Disección anatómica como estrategia para el estudio del sistema neural en fetos

Esse trabalho busca relatar o processo de confecção de peças anatômicas para o ensino da anatomia humana a partir de material cadavérico fetal. Os discentes do curso de medicina da Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR) ­ Campus Toledo participaram do programa de voluntariado acadêmico e deram atenção especial aos aspectos técnicos do processo de dissecação, bem como a experiência subjetiva desse procedimento como ferramenta de aprendizado ativo. O procedimento foi realizado na sala de preparação de cadáver da UFPR ­ Campus Toledo, utilizando instrumental de dissecação e cadáveres humanos fetais com 20, 17 e 14 semanas de idade gestacional, direcionado de modo a expor as partes constituintes do sistema neural. Foram confeccionadas peças de cérebro, cerebelo, tronco encefálico, medula espinal, nervos espinais e suas estruturas associadas. Os voluntários envolvidos foram capazes de produzir material de estudo de qualidade através da dissecação e fortalecer seu conhecimento em anatomia humana e aptidão manual. Também foi dada atenção à importância e às limitações do processo de dissecação como estratégia de aprendizado em cursos da área de saúde. pôde ser observado que a dissecação pode fazer parte de uma formação completa e bem estruturada dos discentes, que por sua vez irão integrar a sociedade e a academia. Além disso, a exposição da topografia neural fetal pode servir de referencial para posteriores estudos que venham a utilizar essas informações.

This work aims to report the confection process of anatomic pieces for teaching human anatomy from fetal cadaveric material. The students of the medicine course of Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR) ­ Campus Toledo, took part in the academic volunteer program and paid special attention to the technical aspects of the dissection process, as well as the subjective experience of this procedure as an active learning tool. The procedure was performed at the cadaver preparation room of the UFPR ­ Campus Toledo, using dissection tools and human fetal corpses of 20, 17 and 14 weeks of gestational ages, directed so as to expose the constituent parts of the neural system. Pieces of the brain, cerebellum, brainstem, spinal cord, spinal nerves, and its associated structures were made. The involved voluntaries were able to produce quality study material through dissection, and strengthen their knowledge in human anatomy and manual skill. Attention was also given to the importance and limitations of the dissection process as a learning strategy in health courses. it was observed that dissection can be part of a complete and well-structured training of students, who in turn will integrate society and academia. In addition, the exposure of fetal neural topography can serve as a reference for further studies that use this information

Este trabajo tiene como objetivo relatar el proceso de confección de piezas anatómicas para la enseñanza de la anatomía humana a partir de material cadavérico fetal. Los alumnos del curso de medicina de la Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR) - Campus Toledo, participaron del programa de voluntariado académico y prestaron especial atención a los aspectos técnicos del proceso de disección, así como a la vivencia subjetiva de este procedimiento como herramienta de aprendizaje activo. El procedimiento fue realizado en la sala de preparación de cadáveres de la UFPR - Campus Toledo, utilizando herramientas de disección y cadáveres de fetos humanos de 20, 17 y 14 semanas de edad gestacional, dirigidos de forma a exponer las partes constitutivas del sistema neural. Se realizaron piezas del cerebro, cerebelo, tronco encefálico, médula espinal, nervios espinales y sus estructuras asociadas. Los voluntarios participantes pudieron elaborar material de estudio de calidad mediante la disección y reforzar sus conocimientos de anatomía humana y habilidad manual. También se prestó atención a la importancia y las limitaciones del proceso de disección como estrategia de aprendizaje en los cursos de salud. Se observó que la disección puede formar parte de una formación completa y bien estructurada de los estudiantes, que a su vez integrarán la sociedad y el mundo académico. Además, la exposición de la topografía neural fetal puede servir de referencia para estudios posteriores que utilicen esta información.

[Establishment of Hospice and Palliative Care Training Platform for Volunteers].

To let the general public,regardless of gender,age,career and education background,understand the core concept of hospice and palliative care,practice in their lives,and then spread to and serve as many people as possible,the hospice and palliative care team of Peking Union Medical College Hospital established the professional hospice and palliative care training platform for volunteers in 2021.This article reviews the training design,content,methods,and results of the platform.It is concluded that the platform has theory-based training design,logical and complete training content,suitable training method for volunteers,and satisfactory training results.The establishment of this hospice and palliative care training platform for volunteers has excellent feasibility.Efforts should be made to further explore the performance and long-term development strategy of the training platform.

Role of Community Health Volunteers Since the 2015 Nepal Earthquakes: A Qualitative Study.

OBJECTIVE: Nepal female community health volunteers (FCHVs) were the first available health personnel in communities during the 2015 Nepal earthquakes. This study explored the facilitating factors and barriers of the FCHVs during health emergencies. METHODS: In-depth interviews with 24 FCHVs and 4 health managers from 2 districts in Nepal (Gorkha and Sindhupalchowk) were conducted using semi-structured interview guides. The qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis methods. RESULTS: FCHVs were the first responders to provide services after the earthquakes and were well accepted by the local communities. Different models of supervision existed, and differences in the workload and remuneration offered to FCHVs were described. A wide range of disaster-related knowledge and skills were required by FCHVs, and lack of prior training was an issue for some respondents. Furthermore, lack of access to adequate medical supplies was a major barrier for FCHVs in the 2015 earthquakes. The 5 identified themes were discussed. CONCLUSION: Providing regular disaster response training for FCHVs and strong leadership from the public sector with sustained investments will be essential for increasing the capacities of community health workforces to prepare for and reduce the impacts of future health emergencies in resource-poor settings.

Village-integrated eye workers for prevention of corneal ulcers in Nepal (VIEW study): a cluster-randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Corneal ulcers are a common cause of blindness in low-income and middle-income countries, usually resulting from traumatic corneal abrasions during agricultural work. Antimicrobial prophylaxis of corneal abrasions can help prevent corneal ulcers, but delays in the initiation of therapy are frequent. We aimed to assess whether a community-based programme for corneal ulcer prevention would reduce the incidence of corneal ulceration. METHODS: A cluster-randomised trial was performed in village development committees (VDCs) in Nepal. VDCs in the catchment area of Bharatpur Eye Hospital, Nepal with less than 15 000 people were eligible for inclusion. We randomly assigned (1:1) VDCs to either an intervention group or a control group. In the intervention VDCs, existing female community health volunteers (FCHVs) were trained to diagnose corneal abrasions and provide a 3-day course of ophthalmic antimicrobials to their patients. In the control VDCs, FCHVs did not provide this intervention. Participants were not masked given the nature of the intervention. Both groups were followed up for 3 years for photographic evidence of corneal ulceration. The primary outcome was the incidence of corneal ulceration, determined by masked assessment of corneal photographs. The analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01969786. FINDINGS: We assessed 112 VDCs, of which 24 were enrolled. The study was performed between Feb 4, 2014, and Oct 20, 2017. 12 VDCs were randomly assigned to the intervention group and 12 to the control group. 252 539 individuals were included in the study (130 579 in the intervention group and 121 960 in the control group). FCHVs diagnosed and provided antimicrobials for 4777 corneal abrasions. The census identified 289 corneal ulcers among 246 893 person-years in the intervention group (incidence 1·21 cases [95% CI 0·85-1·74] per 1000 person-years) and 262 corneal ulcers among 239 170 person-years in the control group (incidence 1·18 cases [0·82-1·70] per 1000 person-years; incidence rate ratio 1·03 [95% CI 0·63-1·67]; p=0·93). Medication allergy was self-reported in 0·2% of participants. INTERPRETATION: We did not detect a reduction in the incidence of corneal ulceration during the first 3 years of a community-based corneal ulcer prevention programme. Further study might be warranted in more rural areas where basic eye care facilities are not available. FUNDING: National Eye Institute.

Understanding how context and culture in six communities can shape implementation of a complex intervention: a comparative case study.

BACKGROUND: Contextual factors can act as barriers or facilitators to scaling-up health care interventions, but there is limited understanding of how context and local culture can lead to differences in implementation of complex interventions with multiple stakeholder groups. This study aimed to explore and describe the nature of and differences between communities implementing Health TAPESTRY, a complex primary care intervention aiming to keep older adults healthier in their homes for longer, as it was scaled beyond its initial effectiveness trial. METHODS: We conducted a comparative case study with six communities in Ontario, Canada implementing Health TAPESTRY. We focused on differences between three key elements: interprofessional primary care teams, volunteer program coordination, and the client experience. Sources of data included semi-structured focus groups and interviews. Data were analyzed through the steps of thematic analysis. We then created matrices in NVivo by splitting the qualitative data by community and comparing across the key elements of the Health TAPESTRY intervention. RESULTS: Overall 135 people participated (39 clients, 8 clinical managers, 59 health providers, 6 volunteer coordinators, and 23 volunteers). The six communities had differences in size and composition of both their primary care practices and communities, and how the volunteer program and Health TAPESTRY were implemented. Distinctions between communities relating to the work of the interprofessional teams included characteristics of the huddle lead, involvement of physicians and the volunteer coordinator, and clarity of providers' role with Health TAPESTRY. Key differences between communities relating to volunteer program coordination included the relationship between the volunteers and primary care practices, volunteer coordinator characteristics, volunteer training, and connections with the community. Differences regarding the client experience between communities included differing approaches used in implementation, such as recruitment methods. CONCLUSIONS: Although all six communities had the same key program elements, implementation differed community-by-community. Key aspects that seemed to lead to differences across categories included the size and spread of communities, size of primary care practices, and linkages between program elements. We suggest future programs engaging stakeholders from the beginning and provide clear roles; target the most appropriate clients; and consider the size of communities and practices in implementation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03397836 .

Volunteer leadership: A silent factor in student volunteer retention.

Despite the growing interest in student volunteerism, few students volunteer, and volunteer organisations struggle to retain those who do. We explore motivating factors, expectations, and demotivating factors as they relate to retention in student volunteerism Participants were selected from six volunteer projects associated with three South African universities in the Western Cape region. Seventy active volunteers (N = 70) responded to four open-ended questions, analysed using thematic analysis. Volunteer leadership is central to student volunteers' expectations and demotivating factors. Good leadership fulfilled student volunteers' expectations, but student volunteers were demotivated in the face of poor leadership. Six indicators of good leadership were identified. This included efficiency, regular and effective communication, being organised, passionate, and dedicated along with being supportive and facilitating volunteer growth. We argue for the importance of including contextual factors such as volunteer leadership when designing a student volunteer retention framework.

Engaging Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) for cardiovascular diseases risk screening in Nepal.

INTRODUCTION: Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) have become the leading public health problems worldwide and the cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is one of the major NCDs. Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) in Nepal are the key drivers to implementing frontline health services. We explored the potential for engaging FCHVs for CVD risk screening at the community level in Nepal. METHODS: We used multiple approaches (quantitative and qualitative) for data collection. The trained FCHVs administered CVD risk screening questionnaire among 491 adults in rural and urban areas and calculated the CVD risk scores. To maintain consistency and quality, a registered medical doctor also, using the same risk scoring chart, independently calculated the CVD risk scores. Kappa statistics and concordance coefficient were used to compare these two sets of risk screening results. Sensitivity and specificity analyses were conducted. Two focus group discussions among the FCHVs were conducted to determine their experiences with CVD risk screening and willingness to engage with CVD prevention and control efforts. RESULTS: The mean level of agreement between two sets of risk screening results was 94.5% (Kappa = 0.77, P<0.05). Sensitivity of FCHV screening was 90.3% (95% CI: 0.801-0.964); and the specificity was 97% (95% CI: 0.948, 0.984). FCHVs who participated in the FGDs expressed a strong enthusiasm and readiness to using the CVD risk screening tools. Despite their busy workload, all FCHVs showed high level of motivation and willingness in using CVD risk screening tools and contribute to the prevention and control efforts of NCDs. The FCHVs recommended needs for providing additional training and capacity building opportunities. CONCLUSION: We conclude that there is a potential for engaging FCHVs to use simple CVD risk screening tools at the community level. The findings are promising, however, further studies engaging larger number of FCHVs and larger population would warrant feasibility of such tools within the existing healthcare systems in Nepal.

A Pilot Study Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Training Module Designed to Improve Hospice Palliative Care Volunteers' Ability to Deal With Unusual End-of-Life Phenomena.

The need for training to help healthcare professionals and hospice palliative care volunteers deal with unusual experiences at or around the end of a person's life is an oft-repeated theme in the scientific literature. A pilot study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of a training module designed to improve volunteers' ability to recognize, understand, and respond to unusual end-of-life phenomena (EOLP) in their work with dying patients and their families. Twenty-four volunteers from two community-based hospice palliative care programs completed the 25-item Coping with Unusual End-of-Life Experiences Scale (CUEES) prior to and immediately after attending a lecture and PowerPoint training module. A series of paired samples t tests revealed significant pre- and post-training differences on 14 items, suggesting that volunteers felt more knowledgeable about EOLP, better prepared to deal with EOLP, and more comfortable talking about EOLP with others following the training. The need for additional data is discussed.

Behavior Education and Intervention Program at a Small Shelter I. Effect on Behavior Knowledge and Safety.

Behavior knowledge is a critical component of shelter staff and volunteer training. Canine behavior knowledge was assessed at a small shelter before and after a six-month program of educational seminars and real-time case interventions for staff and volunteers. Participants were asked to complete surveys assessing their knowledge of body language, motivation, and training methodology, as well as rank their own comfort with these topics. Staff and volunteers who participated in the program and interacted with the dogs were compared to board members (who do not interact with the dogs) and feline-only volunteers. Prior to the program, both groups demonstrated poor scores and self-assessments did not correlate with knowledge scores. Those who participated in the program were more likely to be high performers on the post-program survey, odds ratio: 1.594 (95%CI 1.10-2.137) p = 0.002. Psychometric evaluation of the survey answers themselves illustrated gaps in behavior knowledge in shelter members and suggests that both seminar and case interventions can improve this. Formalized behavior education and measurement of behavior knowledge may facilitate the mission of shelters and safety there-in.

Volunteer motivation in sports events in Brazil / Motivação de voluntários em eventos esportivos no Brasil

ABSTRACT The purpose was to analyze the potential differences in the motivation factors of volunteers according to the demographics; sex, level of education, and type of events in Brazil. The Volunteer Motivations Scale for International Sporting Events was administered to Brazilian volunteers via an online survey. Back-translation was used to ensure accuracy between the original scales. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to perform the transcultural adaptation. MANOVA was utilized to compare differences in demographic variables. Volunteers were motivated by two factors: Love of Sports and Community Involvement. The level of education verified significant differences only in the love of sport factor. The MANOVA revealed that the volunteers with a lower level of schooling (incomplete and elementary school) have higher levels of motivation (love for sport) compared to volunteers with high school, undergraduate, master's and PhD degrees. The interaction between sex and level of education indicated a significant difference in the same factor, and the interaction sex and type of event with the factor Community Involvement. Therefore, the results identify some differences in demographics. It is concluded that Volunteers' motivation is linked to the love of sport and involvement with the community and is related to sex and schooling, highlighting the importance of investigating volunteer motivations amongst sports events to promote positive development in management practices, specially to Brazilian sports events.

RESUMO O objetivo foi analisar as potenciais diferenças nos fatores de motivação de voluntários de acordo com os dados demográficos; sexo, nível de escolaridade e tipo de eventos no Brasil. A Escala de Motivação de Voluntários para Eventos Esportivos Internacionais foi aplicada a voluntários brasileiros por meio de um questionário online. A retrotradução foi usada para garantir a precisão entre as escalas originais. A análise fatorial confirmatória foi utilizada para realizar a adaptação transcultural. MANOVA foi utilizada para comparar diferenças nas variáveis demográficas. Os voluntários foram motivados por dois fatores: Amor ao Esporte e Envolvimento Comunitário. O nível de escolaridade verificou diferenças significativas apenas no fator amor ao esporte. A MANOVA revelou que os voluntários com menor escolaridade (escola primaria e incompleta) possuem níveis de motivação (amor ao esporte) maiores comparado aos voluntários com ensino médio, graduação, mestrado e doutorado. A interação entre sexo e escolaridade indicou diferença significativa no mesmo fator, e a interação sexo e tipo de evento com o fator Envolvimento na Comunidade. Portanto, os resultados identificam algumas diferenças demográficas. Conclui-se que a motivação dos voluntários está atrelada ao amor ao esporte e envolvimento com a comunidade e possui relações com sexo e escolaridade, destacando a importância de investigar as motivações do voluntariado entre os eventos esportivos para promover o desenvolvimento positivo das práticas de gestão, especialmente dos eventos esportivos brasileiros.

Training and Assessing Model for the Ability of Community Health Volunteers in Anthropometric Measurement Using the Rasch Stacking and Racking Analyses.

Background: Inappropriate anthropometric measurements of infants and toddlers lead to a misclassification in nutritional status and loss of important interventions. Considering the practice conducted in this program within a country, its impact on millions of children must be considered. This study assesses the ability of community health volunteers (CHVs) before and after anthropometric training on infants and toddlers. Methods. This study used a quantitative approach with a quasiexperimental and pretest-posttest design. The pre- and posttraining assessments of CHVs were conducted by standardized trainers using instruments developed according to WHO standards. There were 11 and 13 statement items for infants' and toddlers' indicators of assessment in anthropometric measurements, respectively. The result of the assessment was then analyzed using Rasch modeling with stacking and racking data analysis techniques. Results: The CHVs' skills before training were far from adequate. Although widely varied, all trainees improved their abilities. Stacking analysis showed that the skills of all CHVs in measuring infants and toddlers increased by 2.68 and 3.34 logits (p < 0.01), respectively. Racking analysis showed a decrease in the perceived difficulty of all items by 2.61 and 3.07 logits for infant and toddler measurements, respectively (p < 0.01). The results of the racking analysis showed that the difficulty in measuring the anthropometrics of infants decreased more than that of toddlers. Conclusions: CHVs' capacity to monitor child growth must be refreshed regularly. Standardized and proper training and assessment were developed to make CHVs reliable in taking anthropometric measurements of infants and toddlers.

More than ticking boxes: Training Lyme disease education ambassadors to meet outreach and surveillance challenges in Québec, Canada.

Lyme disease (LD) is an emerging public health threat in Canada, associated with the northward range expansion of the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis). To address this, public health authorities have been carrying out surveillance activities and awareness campaigns targeting vulnerable populations such as outdoor workers. Implementing these measures is time-consuming and resource-intensive, prompting the assessment of alternatives. Our goal was to evaluate the feasibility and implementation of a training-of-trainers-inspired approach in raising awareness about LD risk and prevention among workers and general population, as well as to evaluate its potential to contribute to provincial LD surveillance efforts. We trained a group of workers from publicly-accessible outdoor parks of the province of Québec to become "LD education ambassadors". Ambassadors were trained to raise tick and LD awareness, share information on preventive measures in their respective communities, and lead tick sampling activities using a standardised protocol similar to that used by Public Health authorities. Ambassador-led outreach activities, public reach, sampling activities and collected ticks were documented, as well as ambassadors' satisfaction with the training using forms and semi-structured interviews. In total, 18 ambassadors from 12 organizations were trained. Between June and September 2019, they led 28 independent outreach activities, reaching over 1 860 individuals (from occupational and general public settings) in seven public health units. Ambassadors led 28 tick samplings, together collecting 11 I. scapularis ticks. This study suggests that an adapted training-of-trainers is a feasible approach to raising tick and LD risk awareness among Québec outdoor workers and public. Trained ambassadors have the potential of reaching a large portion of the population visiting or working in outdoor parks while also providing much-needed outreach regarding risk and prevention. Pushing this concept further to include other types of workers and jurisdictions may contribute to national LD surveillance efforts.

Knowledge of malaria control and attitudes towards community involvement among female community volunteers: effect of capacity building in a rural community, Southeast Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: community volunteers have limited skills but are an important link between the community and health facilities. We determined the effect of a capacity building intervention on knowledge of malaria control and attitudes towards community involvement among female community volunteers as part of a larger community-based intervention study on pregnant women and children under five. METHODS: we conducted a before and after intervention study (no randomization or controls) among female community volunteers in Amagu community in Abakaliki Local Government Area. The intervention consisted of training sessions on knowledge of malaria and its control. The training took the form of lectures, role plays and practical demonstrations. Supportive supervision by trained community health extension workers was also provided during their field work. We compared pre-training test and post-training test scores after six months interval and analysed the data using paired t test at 5% level of significance with EPI INFO software version 7.2.3. RESULTS: the mean age of the participants was 28.5(± 6.0) years. All had a minimum level of secondary education. There was significant improvement in the mean scores of their knowledge of malaria signs and symptoms (p < 0.001), preventive measures (p < 0.001) and appropriate drug treatment (p < 0.001) in the post-training test when compared with the pre-training test. The overall mean knowledge scores pre and posttest were 147.8 and 169.8 respectively (p < 0.001) out of a maximum achievable score of 195. Also there was significant improvement in the perception of the participants on community involvement in promoting referral of pregnant women with fever (p = 0.001), the use of intermittent preventive therapy with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (p = 0.048) and funding initiatives to sustain activities (p = 0.037). CONCLUSION: capacity building of female community volunteers coupled with supportive supervision by trained community health workers improved the female community volunteers´ knowledge of malaria, its control and their perception of community involvement in control activities. It is recommended that the use of community volunteers as a low cost health resource can be explored further for incorporation into existing policies on malaria control in resource constrained environments.

Aprender de la práctica: voluntariado universitario para el abordaje epidemiológico de casos y contactos estrechos de COVID-19. Una sistematización de experiencias / Learning from practice: university volunteering for the covid-19 cases and close contact tracing. A systematization of experiences

Introducción: desde el inicio de la pandemia de COVID-19 en la Argentina se estableció la identificación y seguimiento de casos y contactos estrechos como una estrategia clave para cortar la cadena de transmisión del virus. Desde el Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires se desarrolló un circuito de llamados telefónicos a casos y contactos estrechos para brindar pautas de alarma, medidas de aislamiento domiciliario y detectar situaciones que requieran acciones de gestión. Materiales y métodos: ante el aumento de casos en el mes de junio de 2020, el "Voluntariado para el Abordaje Epidemiológico de casos CO-VID-19 y detección de contactos estrechos" surge como propuesta para incorporar estudiantes de grado al circuito de llamados. Durante el período julio-octubre se desarrollaron tres cohortes consecutivas y participaron 51 estudiantes de distintas carreras de salud del Instituto Universitario del Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. Este trabajo se enmarca en una sistematización de experiencias como propuesta metodológica para la cual se conformó un equipo integrado por coordinadores/as y estudiantes. Objetivos: analizar el voluntariado implementado desde el marco de la sistematización de experiencias. Además, este trabajo se propone describir el desarrollo y las estrategias de capacitación, organización y comunicación e indagar en los sentidos que tuvo el voluntariado para los/as estudiantes. Resultados: se contactó al 20% (n = 1226) del total de los 6068 casos positivos del Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires en dicho período y se derivaron 195 acciones de gestión. Desde la perspectiva de los/as voluntarios/as se destacó la posibilidad de tener contacto con pacientes, desarrollar habilidades comunicacionales y sentir que aportaron un "granito de arena" en el contexto de pandemia. Conclusiones: el voluntariado excedió los objetivos iniciales del circuito de llamados, para transformarse en un espacio de aprendizaje, inter-cambio y formación. Este trabajo invita a reflexionar sobre los perfiles profesionales del campo de la salud y a dialogar con propuestas formativas basadas en el aprendizaje complejo y el encuentro con escenarios reales. (AU)

Introduction: since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in our country, the identification of COVID-19 cases and close contact tracing has been established as a key strategy to cut the chain of contagion. The Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires created a phone call circuit to provide preventive measures and detect situations that require additional actions.Because of the increase in COVID-19 cases in June 2020, the "Volunteering for the COVID-19 cases and close contact tracing" emerged as a proposal to incorporate undergraduate students to the phone call circuit. During the period July to October, three consecutive volunteer cohorts took place and 51 students from different health careers from the Instituto Universitario del Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires participated.Methodology: this work is based on a systematization of experiences as a research method for which a team made up of coordinators and students was formed. Objectives: analyze the volunteering implemented from the framework of the systematization of experiences. Also, this work proposes to de-scribe the development of the volunteering and the formation, organization and communication strategies and helped to know the meanings as-signed by the students to the volunteering. Results: the 20% (n = 1226) of the total 6068 Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires cases were contacted by volunteers and 195 additional actions were executed. From the perspective of the volunteers, they highlighted the possibility of having contact with patients, involving communication skills and feeling that they made a contribution in the context of a pandemic. Conclusion: the volunteering exceeded the initial objectives of the proposal, to become a place for learning, exchange and personal growth. This work invites us to reflect on the professional roles in the health field and to dialogue with educational programmes based on complex learning and encounters with real scenarios. (AU)