What is the effect of a training program on Obstructive Airways Diseases (OAD) on the knowledge levels of 527 allied health professionals in India?

Introduction: Time constraint is a major challenge for practicing clinicians who manage patients of OADs in India and other Low and Middle-income Countries (LMICs). Allied health professionals (AHPs) can be an important asset in supporting these clinicians with various aspects of diagnosis and management like spirometry, peak flow meter, inhaler device training and counselling about the disease. However, there are no structured training programmes on OADs for AHPs. Hence, we established a Certificate Course on Obstructive Airways Diseases (CORD) which comprised two days (ten hours) of online, interactive training in a language that the participants understand, on Asthma, COPD, Spirometry, Peak Flow Meter, inhaler device technique and patient counseling. We aimed to evaluate the effect of CORD on the AHPs’ knowledge level about OADs. Method: 1087 allied health professionals (AHPs) trained over 24 CORD programmes between November 2020 and October 2024 were invited to participate in the study. Their knowledge levels were assessed using a simple online questionnaire, at three time points: before the training, within 24 hours after the training, and three months or more, after the program's completion. The responses to the multiple-choice questions were scored out of 20 points. Simple descriptive analysis was done using IBM SPSS Ver. 27.0 Results: 527 participants completed the survey. Figure 1(a) shows mean pre- and immediate post test scores and Figure 1(b) shows the mean scores of pre and post 3 months to 4 years after the training. Figure 1: Improvement in knowledge levels immediately after the training program and three months or more post-training Conclusion: Our 2 days virtual training programme CORD significantly and sustainably improved the knowledge of AHPs about OAD diagnostic techniques, disease conditions, counselling and inhaler technique, and can be scaled up to support other LMICs to create trained AHPs and improve primary respiratory health care.