Utilization of the TRAIN Learning Network for Online Disaster Medicine and Public Health Training During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic dramatically accelerated a growing trend toward online and asynchronous education and professional training, including in the disaster medicine and public health sector. This study analyzed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the growth of the TRAIN Learning Network (TRAIN) for the year 2020 and evaluated pandemic-related changes in use patterns by disaster and public health professionals. The TRAIN database was queried to determine the change in the number of registered users, total courses completed, and courses completed related to COVID-19 during 2020. In 2020, a total of 755,222 new users joined the platform - nearly 3 times the average added annually over the preceding 5 y (2015-2019). TRAIN users completed 3,259,074 training courses in 2020, more than double the average number of training courses that were completed annually from 2015-2019. In addition, 17.8% of all newly added disaster and public health training courses in 2020 were specifically related to COVID-19. Online education provided by TRAIN is a critical tool for just-in-time disaster health training following a disaster event or public health emergency, including in a global health crisis such as a pandemic.