Is a decentralized continuing medical education program feasible for Chinese rural health professionals?

Evaluation of the star family doctors training program: an observational cohort study of a novel continuing medical education program for general practitioners within a compact medical consortium: a quantitative analysis

INTRODUCTION

To determine the effectiveness of the Star Family Doctors Training Program, a comprehensive Continuing professional development (CPD) program for general practitioners (GPs) in a compact medical consortium.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Observational cohort study with a quantitative analyses in primary health care institutions in Sichuan Province. The interventions were as following: (1) The Star Family Doctors Training Program is a full-time, local government allocation program certified by the Health Department of Sichuan Province, emphasizing small group learning and practice, and using standard patients and medical patient simulators; 30 participants were selected by their institutions. (2) The control group underwent a self-financed after-work CPD program using conventional lectures; 50 participants were self-selected. Short-term effectiveness assessed using immediate post-training tests and self-evaluations; long-term (1 year) effectiveness evaluated using self-reported surveys.

RESULTS

The study involved 80 GPs (28.75% men; mean age: 38.2 ± 9.2 years). The average post-training total score was higher in the STAR group than in the control group (72.83 ± 5.73 vs. 68.18 ± 7.64; p = 0.005). Compared to the controls, STAR participants reported seeing more patients (all p < 0.05), and had more patients who signed family-doctor contracts (p = 0.001) as well as increased patient satisfaction (p = 0.03), respectively. STAR-group trainees appraised the program higher and were more willing to recommend it to colleagues (90% vs. 64%, p = 0.011).

CONCLUSION

The Star Family Doctors Training Program achieved good responses and provides a reference for future CPD programs.

A Checklist for Implementing Rural Pathways to Train, Develop and Support Health Workers in Low and Middle-Income Countries

Background: There is an urgent need to scale up global action on rural workforce development. This World Health Organization-sponsored research aimed to develop a Rural Pathways Checklist. Its purpose was to guide the practical implementation of rural workforce training, development, and support strategies in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). It was intended for any LMICs, stakeholder, health worker, context, or health problem. Method: Multi-methods involved: (1) focus group concept testing; (2) a policy analysis; (3) a scoping review of LMIC literature; (4) consultation with a global Expert Reference Group and; (5) field-testing over an 18-month period. Results: The Checklist included eight actions for implementing rural pathways in LMICs: establishing community needs; policies and partners; exploring existing workers and scope; selecting health workers; education and training; working conditions for recruitment and retention; accreditation and recognition of workers; professional support/up-skilling and; monitoring and evaluation. For each action, a summary of LMICs-specific evidence and prompts was developed to stimulate reflection and learning. To support implementation, rural pathways exemplars from different WHO regions were also compiled. Field-testing showed the Checklist is fit for purpose to guide holistic planning and benchmarking of rural pathways, irrespective of LMICs, stakeholder, or health worker type. Conclusion: The Rural Pathways Checklist provides an agreed global conceptual framework for the practical implementation of "grow your own" strategies in LMICs. It can be applied to scale-up activity for rural workforce training and development in LMICs, where health workers are most limited and health needs are greatest.

Continuing medical education and work commitment among rural healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study in 11 western provinces in China

OBJECTIVES

Continuing medical education (CME) and work commitment are important for rural healthcare workers (RHWs) and rural medical work. The significant association between continuing education and work commitment has been reported in many studies from several different industries. However, very few studies have analysed the association of CME with work commitment among healthcare workers, let alone among RHWs. This study aimed to identify the significance of CME for the work commitment of RHWs (doctors and nurses) in China.

DESIGN AND SETTING

The cross-sectional study interviewed RHWs from 11 western provinces in China.

PARTICIPANTS

In total, 4118 RHWs, consisting of 2490 doctors and 1628 nurses who were working clinically, were included in the study.

PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Work commitment (ie, the relative importance of work to one's sense of self) focussing on the affective component was the dependent variable, and it included four subdomains: pride, concern, and dedication, extracted by exploratory factor analysis of a 5-point Likert scale, and turnover intent, measured by a dichotomous question. CME (ie, a variety of educational and training activities to maintain, develop or increase knowledge, skills and professional performance and relationships) was the independent variable, including three subdomains: opportunity, participation and expectation, measured by three dichotomous questions.

RESULTS

Of the 4118 respondents, 91.2% reported insufficient opportunities for CME, 21.3% had never participated in CME and 83.3% had a high expectation of CME. The mean scores of pride in, concern for and dedication to work were 3.54, 3.81 and 3.61 (out of a maximum of 5), respectively, and 30.6% presented turnover intent. After adjusting for gender, age, marriage, education, technical title, income and type of rural healthcare organisation, the multivariate analyses suggested that there was a significant positive association between CME and work commitment among RHWs. RHWs who had a significant high-level work commitment were those who reported a sufficient opportunity for CME (β and 95% CI for pride in, concern for and dedication to work: 0.33, 0.23 to 0.43; 0.19, 0.09 to 0.28; and 0.25, 0.15 to 0.35), had participated in CME (β and 95% CI for pride in, concern for and dedication to work: 0.11, 0.04 to 0.19; 0.09, 0.02 to 0.15; and 0.10, 0.03 to 0.17) and had a high expectation of CME (β and 95% CI for pride in, concern for and dedication to work: 0.22, 0.15 to 0.30; 0.21, 0.13 to 0.28; and 0.28, 0.20 to 0.36), and having sufficient opportunities for CME significantly increased the odds of having no turnover intent (OR and 95% CI: 1.70, 1.26 to 2.28). Age, marriage, education, technical title, income and type of rural healthcare organisation were significantly associated with the work commitment of RHWs. Differences were observed between rural doctors and nurses in the association of CME with work commitment.

CONCLUSIONS

CME has a significant positive association with the work commitment of RHWs in China. RHWs' work commitment should be further improved in future rural health workforce management. In addition, governments, healthcare organisations and professional associations should establish a professional and complete CME system in China to provide sufficient opportunities for CME for RHWs, encourage them to participate and meet their expectations.

Unmet needs in health training among nurses in rural Chinese township health centers: a cross-sectional hospital-based study

PURPOSE

Maintaining a sufficient and competent rural nursing workforce is an important goal of the Chinese health delivery system. However, few studies have investigated the health training status or conducted a needs assessment of rural Chinese nurses during this time of great transformations in health policy. This study was conducted to explore the current health training status of nurses working in rural Chinese township health centers (THCs) and to ascertain their perceived needs.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey using a self-administered structured questionnaire was conducted among 240 THC nurses in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China from March 2014 to August 2014. The survey questionnaire was adapted from the Second Chinese Survey of Demographic Data and Training Demand for Health Professionals in THCs developed by the Ministry of Education.

RESULTS

The nurses in THCs were young, with a low educational level. Their perceived needs for health training included further clinical studies at city-level hospitals to improve their skills and theoretical studies at medical universities in emergency medicine and general practice. Overall, 71.9% of the nurses with a secondary technical school background expected to pursue junior college studies, and 68.5% of the nurses with a junior college education expected to pursue a bachelor's degree. A decentralized program with theoretical studies at medical universities and practical studies at county hospitals was regarded as feasible by 66.9% of the respondents.

CONCLUSION

Health-training programs for nurses in Chinese THCs must be improved in terms of coverage, delivery mode, and content. A decentralized degree-linked training program in which medical universities and city hospitals collaborate would be an appropriate mode of delivery.