Short EpiData course: do participants use the data entry tool two years post-training?

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Informatics
• Medical Education

Background:

• Data entry training is less common than data analysis training.
• A gap exists in accessible, quality-assured data capture education for public health professionals.
• EpiData is a valuable tool for efficient and accurate data management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the utilization of EpiData software post-training among public health professionals.
• To evaluate the extent to which trained individuals disseminated EpiData knowledge.
• To identify factors influencing the adoption and non-adoption of EpiData for research data entry.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted using self-administered, semi-structured questionnaires distributed via Google Forms.
• A manual thematic analysis was employed to interpret qualitative data on EpiData usage.
• The study targeted public health professionals who attended a 2-day EpiData training in India.

Main Results:

• 83% of participants responded, with 55% of those involved in research using EpiData for data entry.
• 76% of respondents taught EpiData to colleagues and students, indicating successful knowledge transfer.
• Key reasons for EpiData use included user-friendliness and error prevention; lack of time and manpower hindered double entry.

Conclusions:

• The short-term EpiData training course demonstrated significant effectiveness in knowledge transfer.
• The training model is scalable and suitable for integration into medical and research institution curricula.
• The study underscores the importance of practical data entry training for public health research capacity building.