The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been collaborating with the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) to develop a distance learning system for providing public health laboratory training to 21 countries served by CAREC. CAREC, which is the disease monitoring and prevention agency in the Caribbean, has a major role in providing public health training to its member countries - a significant challenge given the limited human resources available at the Centre. A pilot program designed to teach aspects of laboratory quality assurance was conducted to 1) assess CAREC's and country infrastructure needed to support and sustain distance learning, 2) assess the feasibility of utilizing available in-country resources and infrastructure to develop and deliver distance education, and 3) evaluate the reach, knowledge gain, and application of training via distance learning. Based on the success of the initial pilot program, a second phase is currently underway that will utilize additional instructional strategies and expand to include training in other public health disciplines. The lessons learned, challenges faced, and approaches developed will provide a feasible model for implementing distance education in other resource-limited environments.
Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will be able to: 1) Utilize an approach for mobilizing support for distance education in resource-limited environments. 2) Develop a plan for implementing distance education for public health in resource-limited environments.
Keywords: Public Health Education, Developing Countries
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.