Development and Perceived Usefulness of an App-based E-learning Programme for Capacity Building of Primary Healthcare Workers in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: After its emergence in December 2019 in China, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by March 2020. In India, there was a lack of equipment and a trained workforce. However, community health workers could play an important role in the prevention and control of disease transmission, thus reducing the burden on tertiary care facilities. Since in-person training was not possible, we developed a mobile application for the training and capacity-building of primary healthcare workers. Objective: To develop a mobile-based application for capacity-building of primary healthcare workers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to assess its perceived usefulness among health workers. Methods: An Android-based mobile application, named CoV Trainer was developed and provided on mobile phones of frontline workers for training during the COVID-19 pandemic. The content was based on the guidelines of the Government regarding the roles and responsibilities of frontline workers and was in the form of short videos. Perceived usefulness was assessed by conducting telephonic interviews with the users of the CoV Trainer app. Results: The feedback received from the users highlighted that app-based training in the form of short audio-visuals was well-received and considered promising for capacity building of health workers, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: App-based training is possible which was well-perceived for capacity building of health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The experience thus gained can be used for capacity building of health workers for any epidemic or pandemic.