The training of workers for community-based family planning and health projects.

Focus in this discussion of the training for community-based family planning and health projects is on the following: setting the stage; training issues in community-based distribution (CBD) projects (training methods for competency based training centralization versus decentralization phasing of training in-service training trainer selection training of trainers process evaluation attainment of competencies and outcome measures); and potential directions for training research in CBD projects. The examples and field observations discussed are taken from project files field trips and programs sponsored by the Research Division of the US Agency for International Development (AID) Office of Population and from the experience of other family planning organizations particularly those involved in CBD activities. A need exists for clear goals and careful selection of educational techniques in CBD training in particular because courses are usually of short duration and teachers might have no ongoing access to trainees once the latter return to their villages. The results of initial training must be direct and easily applicable in the field and simplified strategies of retraining should be considered. The desired outcome of training is to produce workers who are capable of performing the field tasks required by a given project. Pedagogical methods to instill competence need to be simple and inexpensive for inclusion in CBD project. Competency based training focuses on learning rather than teaching. Central to that theme is the need for identification of training goals for the learners rather than for teachers. The concept implies that the scheduling of activities the pace at which material is presented the types of learning activities carried out and the evaluations are all geared to the students abilities and to helping them develop these abilities for specific predetermined roles. The relative merits of centralization versus decentralization have not been formally tested in CBD projects. A potential problem in decentralization arises from a lack of standardization of acceptable training techniques if a number of local trainees are to be used. Actual methods for training CBD trainers are less well documented than the trainer selection practices. A need exists for training evaluation. Deficiencies in the preparation received by workers are frequently not noted in some projects until field work has already begun.