Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39780210›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2025

A blended learning approach for capacity strengthening to improve the quality of integrated HIV, TB, and malaria services during antenatal and postnatal care in LMICs: a feasibility study.

Alice Norah Ladur, Uzochukwu Egere, Marion Ravit, Florence Mgawadere, Christopher Murray, Sarah Ann White, Mohammed Hauwa, Rael Mutai, Lucy Nyaga, Shikuku Duncan and 9 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical education, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Article
  5. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Alice Norah LadurDepartment of International Public Health, Emergency Obstetric and Quality of Care Unit, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembrooke Place, L3, 5QA, Liverpool, UK. Alice.Ladur@lstmed.ac.uk.
Uzochukwu EgereDepartment of International Public Health, Emergency Obstetric and Quality of Care Unit, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembrooke Place, L3, 5QA, Liverpool, UK.
Marion RavitDepartment of International Public Health, Emergency Obstetric and Quality of Care Unit, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembrooke Place, L3, 5QA, Liverpool, UK.
Florence MgawadereDepartment of International Public Health, Emergency Obstetric and Quality of Care Unit, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembrooke Place, L3, 5QA, Liverpool, UK.
Christopher MurrayDepartment of International Public Health, Emergency Obstetric and Quality of Care Unit, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembrooke Place, L3, 5QA, Liverpool, UK.
Sarah Ann WhiteDepartment of International Public Health, Emergency Obstetric and Quality of Care Unit, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembrooke Place, L3, 5QA, Liverpool, UK.
Mohammed HauwaLSTM Nigeria office, Zankli Medical Centre, No 1 Ibrahim Tahir Street, Lane, Abuja, 900108, Nigeria.
Rael MutaiLiverpool School of Tropical Medicine, P.O. Box 24672, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya.
Lucy NyagaLiverpool School of Tropical Medicine, P.O. Box 24672, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya.
Shikuku DuncanLiverpool School of Tropical Medicine, P.O. Box 24672, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya.
Issak BashirDepartment of Family Health, Ministry of Health, P.O. Box 30016, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya.
Olubunmi Olufunmilola AyindeDepartment of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Oyo State Government Secretariat Parliament Rd, Mokola Hill, Ibadan, 200285, Nigeria.
Rukia BakarDepartment of Public Health, University of Dodoma, P.O. Box 353, Dodoma, Tanzania.
Leonard KatalambulaThe State University of Zanzibar, P.O.Box 146, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Carlo FedericiCentre for Research on Health and Social Care Management (CERGAS), SDA Bocconi School of Management, Via Roberto Sarfatti, 10, Milano, 20136, MI, Italy.
Aleksandra TorbicaCentre for Research on Health and Social Care Management (CERGAS), SDA Bocconi School of Management, Via Roberto Sarfatti, 10, Milano, 20136, MI, Italy.
Nicholas FurtadoThe Global Fund, Geneva, Switzerland.
Elizabeth Adjoa KumahDepartment of International Public Health, Emergency Obstetric and Quality of Care Unit, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembrooke Place, L3, 5QA, Liverpool, UK.
Charles AmehDepartment of International Public Health, Emergency Obstetric and Quality of Care Unit, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembrooke Place, L3, 5QA, Liverpool, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe blended learning (BL) approach to training health care professionals is increasingly adopted in many countries because of high costs and disruption to service delivery in the light of severe human resource shortage in low resource settings. The Covid-19 pandemic increased the urgency to identify alternatives to traditional face-to-face (f2f) education approach. A four-day f2f antenatal care (ANC) and postnatal care (PNC) continuous professional development course (CPD) was repackaged into a 3-part BL course; (1) self-directed learning (16 h) (2) facilitated virtual sessions (2.5 h over 3 days) and (3) 2-day f2f sessions. This study assessed the feasibility, change in healthcare providers' knowledge and costs of the BL package in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Kenya.

methodsA mixed methods design was used. A total of 89 healthcare professionals, were purposively selected. Quantitative data was collected through an online questionnaire and skills assessments, analyzed using STATA 12 software. Qualitative data was collected through key informant interviews and focus group discussions, analysed using thematic analysis.

resultsMajority of participants (86%) accessed the online sessions using a mobile phone from home and health facilities. The median (IQR) time of completing the self-directed component was 16 h, IQR (8, 30). A multi-disciplinary team comprising of 42% nurse-midwives, 28% doctors, 20% clinical officers and 10% other healthcare professionals completed the BL course. Participants liked the BL approach due to its flexibility in learning, highly educative/relevant content, mixing of health worker cadres and CPD points. Aspects that were noted as challenging were related to personal log-in details and network connectivity issues during the self-directed learning and facilitated virtual sessions respectively.

conclusionThe blended learning approach to ANC-PNC in-service training was found to be acceptable, feasible and cost less to implement compared to face-to-face training approach in the study settings. The BL training approach was effective in improving the knowledge and skills of healthcare providers who participated in the training.

Indexed as

Feasibility StudiesHIV InfectionsMalariaPrenatal CareAdultCapacity BuildingCOVID-19Delivery of Health Care, IntegratedDeveloping CountriesEducation, DistanceFemaleHealth PersonnelHumansKenyaMaleNigeriaAntenatal careBlended learningCapacity strengtheningPostnatal careQuality of careTraining

Identifiers

PMID39780210
PMCPMC11715178

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.