Bonkoungou Boukaré, Mosha Fausta, Abianuru Amarachi, Okeibunor Joseph, Utunen Heini, Balaciano Giselle, Barbosa de Lima Ana C, Burke Lauren, McKenna Shannon, Nag Sukriti, Gueye Abdou Salam, Struminger Bruce
World Health Organization, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.
World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Front Public Health. 2025 Jan 21;12:1455444. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1455444. eCollection 2024.
Faced with the COVID-19 mobility restrictions, the WHO AFRO EPR program pioneered a collaborative initiative with Project ECHO to virtually educate health workers across Africa at scale. This initiative has evolved into a transformative learning journey. This paper aims to present the lessons learned.
From April 2020 to February 2024, 287 virtual learning sessions were conducted with over 125,816 attendances from 173 countries and regions. This marked a significant increase compared to pre-pandemic face-to-face training, which targeted fewer than 2,000 participants annually. Survey responses ( = 43,221) indicated high relevance and applicability, with 97% of respondents planning to use the information in their work and 89% finding the sessions very or extremely relevant. Self-reported knowledge levels increased from 28 to 74% post-session.
Integrating digital learning into WHO AFRO's education and training toolkit has facilitated immediate emergency responses and enhanced long-term resilience, adaptability, and equity among healthcare workers, especially in under-resourced regions. This initiative has reached more health professionals than pre-pandemic in-person training, facilitating more equitable access to essential knowledge and best practices.
The WHO AFRO and Project ECHO partnership navigated a variety of challenges, while establishing a paradigm shift in learning strategies. Emphasizing a digital learning first approach, while retaining in-person elements, this collaborative initiative offers insights for future healthcare education, highlighting adaptability, cost-efficiency, equity, and new technologies in addressing global health challenges. However, to sustain this momentum and further expand access to critical knowledge, stakeholders must commit to continued investment in digital learning infrastructure, training, and technology.
面对新冠疫情期间的行动限制，世卫组织非洲区域办事处循证实践与研究项目（WHO AFRO EPR）率先与“回音计划”（Project ECHO）开展合作，以大规模在线方式对非洲各地的卫生工作者进行培训。这一举措已演变成一段变革性的学习历程。本文旨在介绍所汲取的经验教训。
2020年4月至2024年2月期间，共举办了287场在线学习课程，来自173个国家和地区的125,816多人次参加。与疫情前的面对面培训相比，这有了显著增长，疫情前的培训每年针对的参与者不到2000人。调查反馈（n = 43,221）显示相关性和适用性很高，97%的受访者计划在工作中运用所学信息，89%的受访者认为这些课程非常相关或极其相关。自我报告的知识水平在课程结束后从28%提高到了74%。
将数字学习纳入世卫组织非洲区域办事处的教育培训工具包，有助于立即做出应急反应，并增强了卫生工作者，特别是资源匮乏地区卫生工作者的长期适应能力、应变能力和公平性。该举措覆盖的卫生专业人员比疫情前的面对面培训更多，促进了对基本知识和最佳实践的更公平获取。
世卫组织非洲区域办事处与“回音计划”的伙伴关系克服了各种挑战，同时在学习策略上实现了范式转变。该合作倡议强调数字学习优先的方法，同时保留面对面教学元素，为未来的医疗保健教育提供了启示，突出了在应对全球卫生挑战方面的适应性、成本效益、公平性和新技术。然而，为了保持这一势头并进一步扩大关键知识的获取范围，利益相关者必须致力于持续投资数字学习基础设施、培训和技术。
