Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria.
PLoS One. 2020 Jul 28;15(7):e0236576. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236576. eCollection 2020.
A Malaria Short Course (MSC) was conceptualized to build the capacity of program managers for malaria control due to the lack of a single comprehensive broad-based programmatic training in Nigeria. Prior to its implementation, a needs assessment was conducted based on the perspectives of stakeholders to plan and develop the curriculum.
This was an exploratory qualitative study. Fifty-six purposively selected stakeholders at local, state and national levels were interviewed. Opinions on the need for training, its perceived impact, priority focus, likelihood of participation, sustainability of and planned support for the MSC were explored using a pretested researcher-designed interview guide. Interviews were audiotape recorded, and the transcripts were subjected to thematic content analysis.
Participants included Directors of Primary Health Care (50%), State Malaria Program Officers (8.9%), State Directors of Public Health Services (7.1%) and Roll Back Malaria Officers (5.4%). Participants' mean number of years of experience in their current positions was 6.2 (SD 4.7) years. The dominant view was "malaria remains a problem in Nigeria, exacerbated by poor funding, knowledge deficit, lack of training opportunities for program managers and prioritized training budget". A common viewpoint was "to achieve the malaria policy goals, MSC should focus on improving program managers' knowledge of the disease, novel interventions, data audit and use of data for decision making, supportive supervision as well as leadership and management skills. The prioritized thematic areas were malaria epidemiology, case management and data management. The consensus opinion was the MSC would have a positive impact on the performance of program managers. All managerial participants were willing to release their staff for the MSC and encouraged step-down training. However, most participants opined they could not guarantee that their institutions would provide financial support to the MSC attendees.
Implementing the MSC for program managers was considered essential towards achieving malaria control. Moreover, there is need for prioritized funding and sustainability mechanisms to actualize the implementation of the course.
由于尼日利亚缺乏单一的综合性基础广泛的规划培训，因此设计了疟疾短期课程（MSC），以增强疟疾控制项目管理人员的能力。在实施之前，根据利益相关者的观点进行了需求评估，以计划和制定课程。
这是一项探索性的定性研究。在地方、州和国家各级，有 56 名经过精心挑选的利益相关者接受了采访。使用预先测试的研究人员设计的访谈指南，探讨了他们对培训的需求、培训的预期影响、重点、参与的可能性、MSC 的可持续性以及计划支持的看法。访谈进行了录音，并对访谈记录进行了主题内容分析。
参与者包括初级保健主任（50%）、州疟疾规划官员（8.9%）、州公共卫生服务主任（7.1%）和遏制疟疾官员（5.4%）。参与者目前职位的平均工作年限为 6.2 年（SD 4.7 年）。主导观点是“疟疾仍然是尼日利亚的一个问题，由于资金不足、知识匮乏、缺乏针对规划管理人员的培训机会以及培训预算优先考虑，情况更加恶化”。一个共同的观点是“为了实现疟疾政策目标，MSC 应重点提高规划管理人员对疾病、新干预措施、数据审核和数据决策、支持性监督以及领导力和管理技能的认识。优先考虑的主题领域是疟疾流行病学、病例管理和数据管理。共识意见是，MSC 将对规划管理人员的表现产生积极影响。所有管理参与者都愿意为 MSC 释放员工，并鼓励逐步培训。然而，大多数参与者表示，他们不能保证其机构将为 MSC 参与者提供财政支持。
实施针对规划管理人员的 MSC 被认为是实现疟疾控制的关键。此外，需要有优先供资和可持续性机制来实现该课程的实施。
