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Implementation and evaluation of a Project ECHO telementoring program for the Namibian HIV workforce.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) piloted the first HIV Project ECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) in Africa at 10 clinical sites between 2015 and 2016. Goals of Project ECHO implementation included strengthening clinical capacity, improving professional satisfaction, and reducing isolation while addressing HIV service challenges during decentralization of antiretroviral therapy. METHODS:MoHSS conducted a mixed-methods evaluation to assess the pilot. Methods included pre/post program assessments of healthcare worker knowledge, self-efficacy, and professional satisfaction; assessment of continuing professional development (CPD) credit acquisition; and focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Analysis compared the differences between pre/post scores descriptively. Qualitative transcripts were analyzed to extract themes and representative quotes. RESULTS:Knowledge of clinical HIV improved 17.8% overall (95% confidence interval 12.2-23.5%) and 22.3% (95% confidence interval 13.2-31.5%) for nurses. Professional satisfaction increased 30 percentage points. Most participants experienced reduced professional isolation (66%) and improved CPD credit access (57%). Qualitative findings reinforced quantitative results. Following the pilot, the Namibia MoHSS Project ECHO expanded to over 40 clinical sites by May 2019 serving more than 140 000 people living with HIV. CONCLUSIONS:Similar to other Project ECHO evaluation results in the United States of America, Namibia's Project ECHO led to the development of ongoing virtual communities of practice. The evaluation demonstrated the ability of the Namibia HIV Project ECHO to improve healthcare worker knowledge and satisfaction and decrease professional isolation.

SUBMITTER: Bikinesi L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7466396 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Implementation and evaluation of a Project ECHO telementoring program for the Namibian HIV workforce.

Bikinesi Leonard L O'Bryan Gillian G Roscoe Clay C Mekonen Tadesse T Shoopala Naemi N Mengistu Assegid T AT Sawadogo Souleymane S Agolory Simon S Mutandi Gram G Garises Valerie V Pati Rituparna R Tison Laura L Igboh Ledor L Johnson Carla C Rodriguez Evelyn M EM Ellerbrock Tedd T Menzies Heather H Baughman Andrew L AL Brandt Laura L Forster Norbert N Scott John J Wood Brian B Unruh Kenton T KT Arora Sanjeev S Iandiorio Michelle M Kalishman Summers S Zalud-Cerrato Sarah S Lehmer Jutta J Lee Stephen S Mahdi Mohammed A MA Spedoske Samantha S Zuber Alexandra A Reilley Brigg B Ramers Christian B CB Hamunime Ndapewa N O'Malley Gabrielle G Struminger Bruce B

Human resources for health 20200901 1

<h4>Background</h4>The Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) piloted the first HIV Project ECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) in Africa at 10 clinical sites between 2015 and 2016. Goals of Project ECHO implementation included strengthening clinical capacity, improving professional satisfaction, and reducing isolation while addressing HIV service challenges during decentralization of antiretroviral therapy.<h4>Methods</h4>MoHSS conducted a mixed-methods evaluation to ...[more]

PMID: 32873303

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Project description:BackgroundDespite evidence of effectiveness, most US hospitals do not deliver hospital-based addictions care. ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a telementoring model for providers across diverse geographic areas. We developed and implemented a substance use disorder (SUD) in hospital care ECHO to support statewide dissemination of best practices in hospital-based addictions care.ObjectivesAssess the feasibility, acceptability, and effects of ECHO and explore lessons learned and implications for the spread of hospital-based addictions care.DesignMixed-methods study with a pre-/post-intervention design.ParticipantsInterprofessional hospital providers and administrators across Oregon.InterventionA 10-12-week ECHO that included participant case presentations and brief didactics delivered by an interprofessional faculty, including peers with lived experience in recovery.ApproachTo assess feasibility and acceptability, we collected enrollment, attendance, and participant feedback data. To evaluate ECHO effects, we used pre-/post-ECHO assessments and performed a thematic analysis of open-ended survey responses and participant focus groups.Key resultsWe recruited 143 registrants to three cohorts between January and September 2019, drawing from 32 of Oregon's 62 hospitals and one southwest Washington hospital. Ninety-six (67.1%) attended at least half of ECHO sessions. Participants were highly satisfied with ECHO. After ECHO, participants were more prepared to treat SUD; however, prescribing did not change. Participants identified substantial gains in knowledge and skills, particularly regarding the use of medications for opioid use disorder; patient-centered communication with people who use drugs; and understanding harm reduction as a valid treatment approach. ECHO built a community of practice and reduced provider isolation. Participants recognized the need for supportive hospital leadership, policies, and SUD resources to fully implement and adopt hospital-based SUD care.ConclusionsA statewide, interprofessional SUD hospital care ECHO was feasible and acceptable. Findings may be useful to health systems, states, and regions looking to expand hospital-based addictions care.

Project description:BackgroundGiven Canada's geographically dispersed population, initial trauma care may occur at rural sites that may not manage patients with trauma frequently; thus, telementoring can play a life-saving role. In this article, we describe a rural trauma telementoring pilot program in British Columbia and report the results of an evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses.MethodsTrauma surgeons from a quaternary trauma centre in Vancouver helped facilitate 3 in situ trauma simulation sessions at a rural BC hospital between fall 2019 and summer 2020. The sessions involved 4 physician participants (a trauma surgeon telementor, a family physician with additional expertise in emergency medicine acting as trauma team leader, a family physician with additional expertise in anesthesia and a family physician with Enhanced Surgical Skills), an emergency department nurse, 2 operating room/trauma team nurses, and laboratory and radiology technicians. The sessions involved simulated damage-control procedures and lasted about 2 hours. The participants completed surveys assessing comfort and confidence regarding aspects of trauma care and use of the telehealth unit before and after each session, and the facilitators assessed team dynamics using the Modified Non-Technical Skills for Trauma (T-NOTECHS) tool. Focus groups were held to gather qualitative data, and costs were tracked.ResultsThe average presimulation confidence survey score was 19.6/30, and the average postsimulation score was 24.0/30. The mean score improved significantly after both the first and second sessions (p = 0.01 and p = 0.004, respectively). Across the 3 sessions, the average T-NOTECHS score improved significantly, from 18.5/25 to 21.5/25 (p = 0.02). Qualitative analysis identified 3 dominant themes: telementoring increased provider confidence, telementoring increased order to the resuscitation procedure and the technical aspects of telementorship. The telementoring program was well received by all participants.ConclusionA significant improvement was seen across simulations in physician confidence and trauma team dynamics with telementorship support. Telementoring in trauma may provide a way to lessen the difference between rural and urban patient outcomes within Canada's geographically dispersed population, although further work investigating the impact of its use in real-life patients, as well as barriers to its implementation, is required.

Project description:BackgroundPediatric pain is a complex health challenge requiring a multi-modal management approach. It is critical that healthcare providers (HCPs) have access to ongoing, flexible education and mentorship specific to pediatric pain. However, there are significant gaps in available pain education and a need for more opportunities to support interprofessional training. Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (Project ECHO®) is a model for delivering online HCP education and cultivating a virtual community of practice. Within the pediatric pain setting, ECHO® has potential to improve local access to specialized pain knowledge, particularly among the physicians, nurses, and allied health providers who primarily manage these cases in community and hospital settings across rural and urban environments. The purpose of this study was three-fold. First, to evaluate the feasibility (participation levels, acceptability) of implementing Project ECHO® in the context of pediatric pain. Second, to measure preliminary program impacts on HCP knowledge, self-efficacy, and clinical practice. Third, to characterize HCP program engagement levels before and after onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA needs assessment was conducted to identify interprofessional education gaps and inform the program curriculum. The no-cost Pediatric ECHO® for Pain program offered TeleECHO sessions (didactic and case-based learning) as well as foundational education. Surveys were distributed at baseline and 6 months to assess outcomes using 7-point Likert scales. Participant engagement was assessed for periods prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were conducted.ResultsEighty-five TeleECHO sessions were hosted, with a mean attendance of 34.1 ± 23.4 HCPs. Acceptability scores at 6 months (n = 33) ranged from 5.0 ± 1.4 to 6.5 ± 0.5. Participants reported statistically significant (p < 0.05) improvements in knowledge (7 out of 7 topics) and self-efficacy (8 out of 9 skills). Most participants reported positive practice impacts, including improved satisfaction with managing children with pain. Exploratory analyses showed a trend of greater engagement from ECHO® learners after onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.ConclusionsProject ECHO® is a feasible and impactful model for virtual education of interprofessional HCPs in managing pediatric pain.

Project description:Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) was developed in 2003 as an innovative model to facilitate continuing education and professional development. ECHO emphasizes 'moving knowledge, not people.' To accomplish this, ECHO programs use virtual collaboration and case-based learning to allow practitioners, including those in rural and underserved areas, to receive specialist training. The ECHO model has expanded rapidly and is now used in 44 countries. Preliminary research on ECHO's efficacy and effectiveness has shown promising results, but evidence remains limited and appropriate research outcomes have not been clearly defined. To improve the evidence basis for ECHO, this study of 5 ECHO programs (cancer prevention/survivorship, integrated pain management, hepatitis C, HIV, and LGBTQ+ health care elucidated actionable insights about the ECHO programs and directions in which future evaluations and research might progress. This was a qualitative study following COREQ standards. A trained interviewer conducted 10 interviews and 5 focus groups with 25 unique, purposively sampled ECHO attendees (2 interviews and 1 focus group for each of the 5 programs). Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the general inductive approach, then reviewed for reliability. We identified four major categories (reasons to join ECHO, value of participating in ECHO, ways to improve ECHO, and barriers to participation) composed of 23 primary codes. We suggest that thematic saturation was achieved, and a coherent narrative about ECHO emerged for discussion. Participants frequently indicated they received valuable learning experiences and thereby changed their practice; rigorous trials of learning and patient-level outcomes are warranted. This study also found support for the idea that the ECHO model should be studied for its role in convening communities of practice and reducing provider isolation as an outcome in itself. Additional implications, including for interprofessional education and model evolution, were also identified and discussed.

Dataset Information

Implementation and evaluation of a Project ECHO telementoring program for the Namibian HIV workforce.

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Implementation and evaluation of a Project ECHO telementoring program for the Namibian HIV workforce.

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