Objectives: To evaluate the impact of enhancing village health volunteers' (VHVs) abilities to promote engaged community-based interprofessional education (CBIPE).
Methods: A single-group pre-posttest design was implemented with 100 VHVs enrolled in a VHVs' abilities program. The program consisted of a two-day workshop that included five key sessions: a 30-40-minute lecture, demonstration and replay, 15-30-minute information sharing and communication, 60-150-minute discussion and practice, and 30-minute feedback. Of the participants, 83 VHVs completed the course and provided data for analysis. Outcomes measured included attitude and motivation towards associate teachers, self-esteem, community diagnosis knowledge, and course satisfaction. Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to analyze changes in competency scales over time.
Results: A significant increase in community diagnosis knowledge was observed post-intervention (mean difference = 26, 95% CI = 24-28; p < 0.001). Significant improvements were also seen in attitude (mean difference = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.96-1.04; p < 0.001), motivation (mean difference = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.86-0.97; p < 0.001), communication (mean difference = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.92-0.97; p < 0.001), and systems thinking (mean difference = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.97-1.00; p < 0.001). No significant change was observed in the active listening scale (p = 0.104). VHVs expressed high satisfaction with the program, with an average score of 4.13 ± 0.76.
Conclusions: VHVs' abilities programs effectively enhance knowledge and improve VHVs' competencies. Ongoing training for associate teachers is essential to support engaged learning and CBIPE field practice for medical students.
Keywords: associate teachers; community-based interprofessional education; vhvs’ abilities program; village health volunteer.