As of early December 2020, Kenya has documented over 80,000 COVID-19 cases, with approximately 1,500 deaths. The COVID-19 pandemic presented significant challenges to the health system, particularly concerning upskilling health workers on how to respond to the new disease. The government response had been primarily focused on ensuring that the public sector was well prepared to curtail the spread of the pandemic. However, given that about 50% of Kenyans seek health care in the private sector, it was critical to ensure that health providers were also well prepared to manage COVID-19. Population Services Kenya (PS Kenya) and Population Services International (PSI) partnered to take on the challenge of upskilling private sector health workers, with support from Unilever and UKAID through the HBCC Unilever Project a 500M GBP investment which aims to reach over 500 million individuals across 37 countries with critical messages, services, and products to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
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In pre-pandemic times, PS Kenya and PSI often provided in-person training for healthcare workers to update their skills in delivering health services. However, in a world of physical distancing, they had to rethink this model. Working closely with the Ministry of Health, they designed and implemented a remote capacity-building solution using existing digital platforms to deliver certified COVID-19 training to over 1,000 private sector health workers. This solution presents an excellent opportunity to address the current skills gap associated with COVID-19 but also offers a cost-effective path to broaden the support of health providers at scale.
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Internet penetration currently stands at 87% in Kenya, with two-thirds of users connecting via smartphones. Nine out of 10 mobile internet users in Kenya have WhatsApp (including the majority of the 3,000 private sector health providers affiliated with PS Kenya); hence using WhatsApp was considered an appropriate channel to deliver COVID-19-related remote capacity building, targeted at private sector providers more broadly. To automate the interactive learning experience, they adapted the official Ministry of Health COVID-19 training curriculum to run the e-learning chatbot application tailored for WhatsApp, to deliver a learning experience through a channel familiar to the target audience. The training was packaged into discrete modules focused on COVID-19 Epidemiology, Infection Prevention & Control, Occupational Health & Safety, and Case Management. Emphasis was placed on training regarding preventive measures to protect health workers and their clients. The training was delivered in a manner that allowed providers to learn at their own pace, interact with audio and visual content, and access online links for further reading. No orientation is required to use the platform—simply ‘click’ and trainScreenshotot of the COVID-19 e-Learning Chatbot course.
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The course included six modules with pre and post-test quizzes.
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