Evaluating an Adapted Professional Breastfeeding Support Program Targeting a Multidisciplinary Team Working in...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Professional Education
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• A need exists for flexible, evidence-based breastfeeding support programs for health professionals (HPs) and community health workers (CHWs).
• The online Outpatient Breastfeeding Champion (OBC) program offers a potential solution for continuity of care.
• Adapting in-person training to an online format requires evaluation of its effectiveness and participant impact.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the strengths and limitations of adapting the in-person OBC program to an online format.
• To assess the impact of the online OBC program on participants' motivation to provide breastfeeding support.
• To examine changes in attitudes, beliefs, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intentions related to breastfeeding support.

Main Methods:

• A pre- and post-training online survey was administered to HPs and CHWs participating in the OBC program (n=534).
• Quantitative data were analyzed using paired t-tests to assess changes in psychosocial factors.
• The study utilized constructs from the Theory of Planned Behavior to evaluate changes in participants' motivation.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in participants' attitudes (p=.01), beliefs (<.01), and perceived behavioral control (p<.01).
• No significant changes were found in subjective norms (p=1.00) or behavioral intentions (p=.14).
• The online format facilitated connections among diverse participants and ease of demonstrations, despite connectivity and technology challenges.

Conclusions:

• Adapting in-person breastfeeding support programs to an online format can positively influence psychosocial factors crucial for effective support.
• The online OBC program demonstrates potential for enhancing breastfeeding support delivery across various settings.
• Further research is needed to address implementation barriers and facilitators for online health professional training programs.