Six design factors for planning and evaluating regional continuing education

Area of Science:

• Continuing education
• Allied health
• Program planning and evaluation

Background:

• Effective continuing education is crucial for allied health professionals.
• Regional planning requires a strategic approach to meet diverse needs.
• Existing methods may lack comprehensive criteria for program design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify key characteristics of a configurational strategy for regional allied health continuing education.
• To establish criteria for the design and evaluation of such programs.
• To demonstrate the application of this strategy through a case study.

Main Methods:

• Identified four core characteristics of a configurational strategy.
• Translated these characteristics into six design criteria.
• Applied the strategy to plan and evaluate a specific continuing education workshop.

Main Results:

• The configurational strategy provides a structured framework for regional continuing education.
• The identified characteristics and criteria offer practical guidance for program development.
• The workshop evaluation demonstrated the strategy's utility.

Conclusions:

• A configurational strategy offers a robust model for planning and evaluating regional allied health continuing education.
• The defined criteria enhance the systematic design and assessment of educational programs.
• This approach supports the continuous professional development of allied health practitioners.