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. 2024 Mar 22:11:e38.
doi: 10.1017/gmh.2024.35. eCollection 2024.

Training community health volunteers to use mobile platform during the COVID-19 pandemic: The Kenya experience

Anne W Mbwayo  1 , Muthoni Mathai  1 , Teresia Mutavi  1 , Stella Waruinge  2 , Noah Triplett  3 , Tessa Concepcion  3 , Pamela Y Collins  4 , Shannon Dorsey  3
Affiliations

Training community health volunteers to use mobile platform during the COVID-19 pandemic: The Kenya experience

Anne W Mbwayo et al. Glob Ment Health (Camb). .

Abstract

This study describes an alternative to face-to-face training method for community health volunteers (CHVs) as used by a collaborative group from the University of Nairobi, University of Washington and the Nairobi Metropolitan Mental Health Team during the COVID-19 lockdown in Kenya. This qualitative study describes the experiences of 17 CHVs enrolled in a training study, required to utilize different digital platforms (Google Meet or Jitsi) as a training forum for the first time. Verbatim extracts of the participants' daily experiences are extracted from a series of write-ups in the group WhatsApp just before the training. Daily failures and success experiences in joining a Google meet or Jitsi are recorded. Then, 17 participants, 10 women and 7 men, aged between 21 and 51 years (mean = 33), owning a smartphone, were enrolled in the study. None had used Jitsi or Google meet before. Different challenges were reported in login to either and a final decision to use Jitsi, which became the training platform. Training CHVs to deliver a psychosocial intervention using smartphones is possible. However, the trainer must establish appropriate and affordable methods when resources are constrained.

Keywords: community health volunteers; psychosocial intervention; task-shifting; training.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Pretrainging steps.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Excerpts from WhatsApp Chat on Google Meet Logon Attempts.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Excerpts from WhatsApp on Jitsi platform; Planning for in-person Tech Support.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
EQUIP Basic Rules for Virtual Mettings/Virtual Training.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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