Journal of Clinical Trials
Open Access

Abstract

Strengthening Response Coordination through Public Health Emergency Operations Centers in Africa: Lessons Learned From 56-Week Webinar Sessions, 2020-2021: A Systematic Review

Liz McGinley, Merawi Aragaw, Ibrahima Sonko, Youssouf Kanoute, Virgil L Lokossou, Jian Li, Ariane Halm, Ali Abdullah, Yan Kawe, Womi Eteng*, Martin Muita, Chuck Menchion Wilton, Emily Rosenfeld, Chimwemwe Waya, Emily Collard, Wessam Mankoula, Senait Tekeste and Abrham Lilay

Background: Following the declaration of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic on 11 March 2020, in-person events including trainings were canceled to limit the spread of the pandemic. A virtual learning program was established in May 2020 by Africa centers for disease control and prevention, the world health organization, and other partners to strengthen COVID-19 response coordination through the Public Health Emergency Operations Centers (PHEOCs). We present a systematic review of the webinar series, the experience, and the lessons learned.

Methods: A data extraction tool was developed to retrieve data from the Africa CDC's webinar data repository. Major findings were synthesized and described per thematic area.

Results: A total of 12,715 (13% of the 95,230 registrants) attended the 56 PHEOC webinar sessions between June 2020 and December 2021 and 47% of the attendees came from 17 countries. Of those who attended, 8,528 (70%) were from Africa. The webinars provided 97 learning hours with an average length of 1.18 hours per session. On average, there were 235 attendees per session. In addition, there was an average of 26 interactions between participants and facilitators per session. A total of 4,084 (44%) of the participants (9,283) responded to the post-session surveys, with over 95% rating the webinar topics as being relevant to their work, contributed to improving their understanding of PHEOC operationalization, and with extensive ease of comprehension.

Conclusion: The virtual training served the intended audience given the high number of participants from African member states, with satisfactory feedback on training relevance. We highlighted a just-in-time, progressively adaptive experience in delivering a PHEOC/PHEM virtual learning in Africa with a consequential global audience at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Published Date: 2022-12-30; Received Date: 2022-11-29