Building on the success of the in-person ‘Foundations in chemical hazards and public health’ training delivered by IHR-SP in Zambia, the IHR-SP Chemicals team has developed an e-learning version to improve reach, efficiency and sustainability. Two cohorts with a total of 35 participants across Ethiopia and Zambia have completed the course, with participants from a wide range of partners including national public health institutes, technical working groups and field epidemiology training programme (FETP) alumni. The training was conducted with the support and input of in-country partners including the national public health institutes.
The course reflects the chemical incident management cycle across seven topics, from prevention through to recovery. It comprises self-directed learning featuring video presentations and downloadable PDFs, paced with a series of live webinars to re-cap and solidify learning, and provides an opportunity for participant discussion. Feedback from course participants was very positive and highlights the benefits of this mode of delivery:
“The educational resources are presented in a clear and concise manner, with international references provided to enhance the depth of knowledge acquisition.” – Medical Doctor, Ethiopia
“Webinars were very informative and helped me understand where I wasn’t clear.” – Public Health Officer, Zambia
Certificates were awarded to participants who successfully completed the post-topic tests with a 70% pass rate and contributed to the webinars, either in real time, or by completing catch-up activities. Of those who completed the course, 30 out of 35 provided feedback, and 100% of these respondents agreed that the training was relevant to their jobs. All participants plan to apply their new knowledge in their jobs, showing the training’s practical value:
“To advance interpretation of toxicological results.” – Forensic Analytical Toxicologist, Ethiopia.
“I deal with the communities and chemicals/poisons affect people. Knowing how to prepare and respond will help protect the community.” – Public Health Officer, Zambia.
“I operate in the PHEOC, chemical events are one of the hazards in our multi-Hazard EPR plan, hence this knowledge will help in planning and coordinating with other agencies in managing chemical hazards in Zambia.” - PHEOC Watch Staff, Zambia.
The IHR-SP Chemicals team intend to refine and expand this e-learning course based on feedback for future sessions, for example participants suggested that future courses could include case studies to enhance learning. Course delivery challenges range from internet connection quality and managing time with competing work commitments.
Future plans include running the course for a Nigerian cohort and the IHR-SP Chemicals team is considering implementation in other partner countries, if a need for introductory chemical training is identified.
The team is also currently running a by invite only online course on FutureLearn, “Introduction to Chemicals and Poisons”.
For further information on these online learning courses or to express an interest in participating in future training, please email chemicalGPH@ukhsa.gov.uk.
An overview of the Padlet online learning platform