Accelerating problem-solving capacities of sub-national public health professionals: an evaluation of a digital immunization training intervention.

BACKGROUND: This article reports an evaluation of the Immunization Training Challenge Hackathons (ITCH), invented by The Geneva Learning Foundation (TGLF) for national and sub-national immunization staff who strive to develop the knowledge and capacity of others to improve immunization program performance. ITCH, a fully-digital program focused on networked collaborative problem-solving between peers, provided an "opt-in" activity for learners in the Teach to Reach (T2R) Accelerator Program designed to improve training effectiveness in the immunization sphere. METHODS: Conducted by a team from the University of Georgia, this mixed method evaluation consisted of thematic analysis of recorded sessions and open-ended comments; and statistical analyses of application and follow-up survey data. The evaluation focused on what was learned and how ITCH participants implemented what they learned. Key stakeholder interviews provided supplemental data about program intent and results. ITCH consisted of 17 30-min sessions held in 2020, in English and French, with 581 participating at least once out of 1,454 enrolled in the overall program. Challenge owners and respondents came from 15 African and Asian countries and spanned different roles with differing scope. RESULTS: Over 85% [n = 154] of survey respondents [n = 181, a 31% response rate] indicated they were able to implement what they learned from the ITCH sessions. A majority [n = 139, 76.7%] reported finding the sessions useful. Issues with poor connectivity and the timing of the live meetings impeded some in their ability to participate, a problem compounded by consequences of the pandemic. The ITCH process constituted of learning or coming to consciousness simultaneously of four types of learning - participants realizing how much they could learn from each other (peer learning), experiencing the power of defying distance to solve problems together (remote learning), and feeling a growing sense of belonging to a community (social learning), emergent across country borders and health system levels (networked learning). CONCLUSIONS: Based on evaluation findings, it was concluded that ITCH demonstrated an effective scalable, informal, non-didactic, experience-led, fast-paced, peer learning design. A focus on community engagement and developing brokering skills was recommended.

Current trends in systematic program evaluation of online graduate nursing education: an integrative literature review.

Over the past decade, the Internet's e3 ect has transformed nursing education, particularly at the graduate level. Schools of nursing have embraced Internet-based course delivery technology to broaden students' access to academic degrees. However, the rush to stay competitive in online education raises questions. What is the quality of these online programs? To what extent are schools of nursing systematically evaluating the programs beyond the course level? What evaluation tools are used? What are the findings? How are the evaluation data used? By answering these questions, nurse educators can develop strategies for evaluating the quality and worth of online learning, thus improving instruction and learning outcomes. This integrative review of nursing and adult education literature identified as the current trends in program evaluation of online nursing education at the graduate level. Research articles were analyzed and perspectives were synthesized from a research agenda viewpoint. Recommendations and needs for future research are discussed.