Improving the Quality of in-Service Training in  Government Healthcare Institutions In Sri Lanka

Introduction: In- service training has always been a tool to develop the health workforce. However, the need to transform and scale up training is a vital necessity. In Sri Lanka, even though government spends substantial resources, in-service training programs may not have the desired quality.

 

Objective This interventional study was conducted to develop and validate standards and guidelines for improvement of the quality of in-service training programs.

 

Methods: A predominantly qualitative methodology was used with Focus Group Discussions, Key Informant Interviews, telephone survey and desk reviews. Data were analyzed using framework method. In addition, pre and post interventional training programs were evaluated as a case study.

 

Results: Absence of systematic need analysis, lack of a mechanism to develop training modules and sporadic evaluations were some of the system gaps identified. Standards and guidelines were developed in order to address these gaps. In the post analysis, the standards and guidelines were accepted by the participants as means of overcoming the identified issues.

 

Conclusion: In training programs. The overall satisfaction among participants demonstrated no statistically significant difference between pre and post evaluations. However, some individual dimensions showed improvement while others demonstrated a decline.