gms | German Medical Science

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for pandemic preparedness and appraisal of existing healthcare delivery protocols. The GLIDE-19 (Global Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic) project – funded under the Erasmus+ program – aims to design and implement a vocational education and training (VET) course for healthcare professionals for improving their knowledge and future preparedness.

Methods: Seven focus groups with 31 healthcare professionals in four partner organizations in Germany, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands were organized to identify their personal needs and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. After qualitative analysis of the data, a pilot interactive VET didactics course was developed based on best practices found in current literature. A three-day training is planned at the Heidelberg University Hospital in April where participants will be taught about future pandemic preparedness in occupational settings. Practical skills training will focus on risk communication both internally within healthcare organizations and externally with patients and other stakeholders. For evaluation, participants will complete a questionnaire derived from Student Evaluation Scale for Medical Courses with Simulations of the Doctor-Patient Interaction (SES-Sim) and Training Evaluation Inventory (TEI). Data will be analyzed descriptively, reporting on means, standard deviations, frequencies and percentages of success factors and acceptance of formats.

Results: Twenty healthcare professionals (five each from partnering countries) will attend the training. The evaluation results will help us to improve the final version of the course. After completing the training, the participants will serve as ‘multiplicators’ and replicate the GLIDE-19 training at their home institutions in the four partner countries. All multiplicators will complete another short evaluation survey after three months, for determining its sustainability, success of integration in their own institutions, and the perceived barriers and facilitators for its implementation.

Discussion: The didactical course was developed on the basis of best practices for COVID-19 pandemic management. Evaluation results and successful multiplication in other countries would suggest that the training could be a useful tool for future pandemic preparedness for European health workers. Interprofessional and intercultural training programs are recommended for better health services management.

Take-home message: The GLIDE-19 project aims to support healthcare professionals in achieving enhanced skills and competencies to manage current and (possible future) pandemics by developing a multidimensional training program. A combination of online learning and practical skills within a didactical course serve as a useful basis for conducting a VET. International collaboration of four countries allows for an integration of interprofessional and intercultural perspectives to generalized learning results.