Development of training courses for capacity development for Occupational and Environmental Disease Control Units in Thailand

Abstract

The training course for capacity development for occupational and environmental disease control units was developed and offered by the Department of Disease Control under the Occupational and Environmental Diseases Control Act B.E. 2562 (2019). The objectives of this descriptive cross-sectional study included comparing the participants knowledge before and after participated the training, as well as evaluating their satisfaction with the occupational and environmental disease control capacity development curriculum. In addition, the study also aimed to compare individuals who have completed the training concerning the establishment of units for occupational and environmental disease control. The study population comprised 2,852 individuals who have undergone training in both on-site and e-learning formats. A total of 2,094 participants who completed both theoretical and practical training during the fiscal year 2021-2022 were purposively included in the study. A self-administered questionnaire on knowledge and satisfaction were performed to obtain the data from each participant. The data was also collected from the registry of the orders of the Occupational and Environmental Diseases Control Unit. Descriptive statistics, including number, percentages, mean, standard deviation, and paired sample t-test for the comparison of mean score of knowledge before and after the participation to the training course were employed at 5% level of significance. The results revealed that the majority of participants were female (69.0%), who worked as public health technical officers (79.2%), whose position was at professional level (38.5%), and affiliated with sub-district health promotion hospitals (35.0%). The knowledge and understanding of before and after training was statistically difference (p-value<0.001). The average score before the training was 11.3, while after the training increased to 16.8. This has demonstrated that the training resulted in gaining more knowledge and understanding. Of all participants who have completed this training course, 1,209 (57.7%) from 120 units in 60 provinces nationwide have been appointed as officials in the Occupational and Environmental Diseases Control Unit in the provinces and Bangkok. Participants have rated their satisfaction with the training course at the highest level (=3.9). It is recommended that the curriculum quality be periodically evaluated to identify areas of improvement for effective implementation and to ensure it responds to changing circumstances. Furthermore, lessons should be learned from provinces that are successful in establishing their functional and effective Occupational and Environmental Diseases Control Units.