Certificate Course in Occupational Safety and Health: A Capacity Building Program for Primary Care Physicians based on Adult Learning Model.

Abstract

Context:The need for physicians qualified in the field of occupational safety and health (OSH) is growing with the growth of manufacturing and service sectors where maximum number of work-related morbidity and mortality occur.Aims:This article aims to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of the certificate course in occupational safety and health for training and capacity building of primary care physicians in OSH.Methods and Material:Guideline for reporting evidence-based practice educational interventions and teaching (GREET) was used for describing educational interventions. The outcome was assessed by comparing the mean scores. t test with P < 0.005 was considered a level of significance.Results:The result showed significant improvement in the cumulative pre- and post-test scores after each module. The certificate course is suitable for adult learning as there was no intergroup difference in knowledge after the program. Consistent with the findings, the improvement scores indicate that training has made a difference in the knowledge and learning of the trained physicians.Conclusions:This customized training intervention has high potential for scaling up while optimally addressing the scarcity of trained physicians in the OSH in high population density settings like India where a high number of vulnerable workforces work in the informal economy.