Abstract
Introductionregular in-service training of healthcare workers within the immunization program is critical to address the program needs created by the introduction of new vaccines and technologies, as well as the expanding scope of immunisation programmes beyond infant immunization and towards a life-course approach. National immunization programs conduct in-service training of health workers depending on program needs and particularly when new program elements are introduced.Methodswe conducted a survey of national and provincial level immunization program staff in 9 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region to determine the perceived needs and preferred training methods for capacity building in immunisation.Resultsnearly all of the respondents (98.3%) stated that there are skill gaps at their respective levels in the immunization program which require training, with 88% indicating that mid-level program management (MLM) training was needed to train new program staff, while 78% indicated program performance gaps and 60% of the respondents stated that refresher training is needed. Program areas identified as top priorities for training included immunisation monitoring and data quality, sustainable immunization financing, adverse events monitoring and community mobilization. More than three quarters of the respondents (78%) think that online MLM training is adequate to address program gaps. Only four of the 9 immunization program managers indicated that they regularly monitor the number of MLM trained staff within their national program.Conclusionthere is a strong need for in-service training of immunization program officers in the countries surveyed, especially at the subnational levels. Program managers should conduct regular monitoring of the training status of staff, as well as conduct detailed training needs assessments in order to tailor the training approaches and topics. Online training provides an acceptable approach for capacity building of immunization program staff.
Highlights
Countries in the African Region have introduced several new and underutilized antigens in their national immunization programs in the past two decades and have made significant progress in vaccination coverage [1]
We worked with the immunization experts in each of the countries and compiled the list of national and provincial level immunization program staff, who work for the ministry of health and the key partner agencies
Training needs in immunization- the perception of immunization program officers in 9 countries: a total of 241 immunization program staff from the 9 countries responded to the questionnaires, 88 of whom were from the national level (37%) while 95 were from the provincial (39.9%) and 55 were from the district levels (23.1%), while 3 participants did not indicate their level of work
Summary
Countries in the African Region have introduced several new and underutilized antigens in their national immunization programs in the past two decades and have made significant progress in vaccination coverage [1]. Immunisation program reviews conducted during the past decade indicate that gaps in the management of human, material and financial resources at district and health facility levels constitute one of the barriers to improving coverage and reaching every child [3,4]. Regular inservice training of healthcare workers within the immunization program is critical to address the program needs as national programs introduce new vaccines and technologies, as well as expand their scope beyond infant immunization and towards a life-course approach. Planning district micro-planning identifying reasons for coverage gaps defaulter tracking identifying hard-to-reach populations immunization program operational planning general problem solving strategic planning planning for introducing new vaccines. Communications involving the community identifying community perceptions and knowledge gaps conducting advocacy for immunisation immunization program stakeholder analysis identifying communications barriers developing messaging for social mobilisation
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