Global Livestock CRSP
Avian Flu School Training-of-Trainers Program: An Effective Approach for Improved HPAI Prevention and Preparedness in Sub-Saharan Africa A. Nicoli, D.J. Wolking, D.A. Bunn, and C.J. Cardona University of California, Davis Avian Flu School Project
Research Brief 10-01-AFS
January 2010
To assess the impact of the Avian Flu School (AFS) training-of-trainers approach on knowledge dissemination, an AFS Evaluation Survey was administered in the Spring of 2009 targeting four countries where the AFS training-of-trainers course took place in 2007: Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The survey had two objectives: (1) to determine the number of people who received information about H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) though AFS training or some other form; and (2) to assess the extent to which the AFS instructors and trainees applied course knowledge to improve HPAI prevention or preparedness. In total, 80 respondents from the four countries participated in the survey. Results indicate that AFS succeeded in extending knowledge through a training-of-trainers approach, with nearly 60% of respondents affirming that they had conducted trainings in their own departments or organizations, and approximately 50% affirming that they had provided training to people outside their departments. Collectively, the respondents reported providing more than 150 multi-day trainings to others, extending the AFS curriculum to over 5,700 individuals. Respondents indicated that a broad array of people were impacted through the trainings, including veterinary medical professionals and students, animal extension agents, scientists, medical professionals, health workers, border agents, village leaders, poultry farmers and traders, livestock keepers, and school children. In addition, a large portion of the respondents (78%) reported sharing AFS course materials through channels outside of formal trainings, extending AFS’s core educational message to an estimated 9,000 people, with the vast majority of those residing in Tanzania. In conclusion, the AFS project’s training-of-trainers approach has succeeded in transferring HPAI surveillance, prevention, and preparedness knowledge to target countries, with a dynamic indirect impact on the dissemination of course knowledge from the national to local levels. Background In response to the spread of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) from southeast Asia in 2003, the Avian Flu School (AFS) project was initiated to assemble a multi-disciplinary team for the development of a curriculum targeting the people most affected by H5N1 HPAI, along with those most involved in its prevention and response (poultry producers, district level veterinarians, agricultural extension staff, medical doctors, public health workers, wildlife professionals, and those raising village poultry). AFS course material was developed using a ‘train the trainer’ model, a common approach for animal health, public health, and agricultural extension, structured into three tiers. Tier I targeted health professionals and national officials from public health ministries and veterinary service departments; Tier II trainings, conducted by the trainees from Tier I, targeted parts of the curriculum relevant to the specific districts and organizations of the Tier I participants, with an intended audience consisting of zonal and district veterinarians, agricultural extension staff, practicing veterinarians, wildlife health managers, and public health workers, who then initiate Tier III trainings reaching their respective communities. This three-tiered training program incorporated an adaptable and interactive curriculum, allowing course customization to the needs of each respective audience.
The AFS training-of-trainers program was launched as a pilot program at the University of California, Davis, Texas A&M University, and the Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania in August 2006. Based on a series of outstanding evaluations and positive feedback from the pilot, AFS was extended across sub-Saharan Africa, conducting the official three-tiered program in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda in 2007. To assess the impact of the AFS training-of-trainers approach on knowledge dissemination, an AFS Evaluation Survey was administered in the spring of 2009 targeting the four African countries where the AFS training-of-trainers course took place. The survey had two objectives: (1) to determine the number of people who received information about H5N1 HPAI though AFS training or some other form; and (2) to assess the extent to which the AFS instructors and trainees applied course knowledge to improve HPAI prevention or preparedness. In total, 80 respondents from the four countries participated in the survey (Table 1). Findings Over 40% of the respondents (AFS trainees) indicated that they learned key points in several categories of
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