Providing Education and Training to Health Care Professionals to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities: Protocol for...

Area of Science:

• Health Equity and Disparities
• Infection Prevention and Control (IPC)
• Quality Improvement (QI)

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted disparities in healthcare among professionals.
• A statewide educational program was developed focusing on health equity, cultural sensitivity, IPC, and QI.
• The program aimed to mitigate the pandemic's impact on vulnerable populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance healthcare professionals' knowledge and skills in health equity, cultural sensitivity, IPC, and QI.
• To increase comfort levels in implementing QI projects addressing health disparities.
• To facilitate the completion of QI projects targeting COVID-19 health disparities.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the RE-AIM framework and the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) model with QI coaching.
• Conducted virtual interactive sessions with didactic presentations, case discussions, and COVID-19 updates.
• Employed pre- and post-surveys and qualitative interviews for program evaluation, analyzing data with statistical tests and inductive content analysis.

Main Results:

• 50 ECHO sessions were conducted from November 2021 to May 2024, with 510 participants and 3316 teaching encounters.
• Pre- and post-survey data analysis is pending, with results expected for publication in June 2026.
• The program demonstrated initial promise in feasibility and participant uptake.

Conclusions:

• An innovative educational protocol integrating training, evaluation, and coaching was developed using implementation science methods.
• The protocol facilitates the translation of training into actionable community projects addressing health disparities.
• Further studies are necessary to assess the long-term impact of QI projects on reducing COVID-19 disparities.