This article is accompanied by the sample form and data file saved in this folder; for help deploying it to your server, check out our support article on deploying form definitions and server datasets.
1. Background
In the state of Gujarat, India, a public health organization is dedicated to improving maternal health and childbirth outcomes through targeted interventions. These initiatives involve close collaboration between health workers and expectant mothers throughout pregnancy. Equipped with fundamental maternal healthcare skills, these frontline workers must undergo a comprehensive three-day training conducted by specialist doctors or designated trainers.
The training encompasses critical areas such as maternal mortality management, factors influencing maternal health, strategies for reducing mortality rates, the importance of postnatal care, elements of the 'three-delay' model in maternal healthcare, HIV prevention from mother to child, and fundamental public health principles. Training sessions are regularly conducted across ten centers every quarter.
Typically, each training batch comprises 10-15 health workers paired with one trainer. Upon successful completion, participants receive certification, qualifying them to serve as frontline workers in the project.
2. Existing challenges & solution
- Lack of Evaluation Mechanism: The effectiveness of the training remains unassessed, with no measure of participants' understanding or knowledge enhancement.
- Absence of Data Management: Participant and trainer details are only recorded on paper, hindering digitization efforts and leading to potential mismanagement.
- Participant Tracking Issues: Duplicate enrollments and fictitious participants are common due to the absence of a comprehensive record-keeping system.
- Inadequate Trainer Documentation: Trainer information is not systematically captured, exacerbating the challenges of oversight and accountability.
- Poor Attendance Monitoring: Without robust systems in place, ensuring participant attendance becomes challenging, leading to potential discrepancies.
- Lack of Regional Training Performance Analysis: Evaluation data across different centers need to be centralized, impeding accurate assessment of training quality. All centers are evaluating it differently; non-uniformity is there.
- Incomplete Feedback Loop: Genuine feedback from both participants and trainers is lacking, hindering opportunities for improvement.
- Certification Bias: Instances of bias in certification processes raise concerns about the integrity of the program and the credibility of certified participants.
Solution - Mobile data collection and automated data collection workflow through SurveyCTO
This workflow contains 6 tools designed for training evaluation. The registration form captures all necessary details of participants and trainers and the form is published into server datasets (participant registration data) for subsequent forms: pre-test, post-test, and feedback forms. Only registered participants can take pre-tests (before training) and post-tests (after training) by clicking their names and proceeding with the questions. The scores of participants are captured and data is published from pre and post-test forms to the server dataset (participant registration data). Further, the feedback is also captured, and the details of the trainers and participants are pulled from the server datasets. Participants cannot fill out multiple forms as the unique programming features ensure that their names vanish from the list upon form submission.
Thus, the training evaluation forms capture all details of participants and evaluate them both before and after training.
3. Workflow components
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Form Definition
- Training+Feedback+Form+Trainer.xls
- Training+Feedback+Form+Participants.xls
- Training+Pre+Test.xls
- Training+Post+Test.xls
- Training+Participant+Registration.xls
- Training+Pre+Post+Evaluation.xls
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Server Dataset Definitions
- participant_registration_data_definition.xml
- training_site_definition.xml
- participant_feedback_data_definition.xml
- Preload Files
- Field plugin files
4. Understanding the workflow
This workflow is composed of six tools that need to be administered in the same order
- Registration of participants and trainers (Form 1)
- Pre-training test form needs to be filled out by participants. (Form 2)
- Post-training test form needs to be filled by participants. (Form 3)
- Training Feedback form for trainers. (Form 4)
- Training Feedback form for participants. (Form 5)
- Training Pre & Post Evaluation form. (Form 6)
All important details, like district name, facility name, and health facility type, are captured using the preloading datasets. The basic details are prefilled in the forms and the user can select the appropriate details.
The first tool registration form captures the participants’ basic details like name, mobile number, designation, block name (currently posted), facility name (currently posted), and educational details. These details are to be filled in by the trainer. The trainer also fetches information related to the district, facility name, and health facility type he/she belongs to. This is accomplished through the preloaded dataset information, which the trainer can select from.
The second tool is the pre-test, which the participants need to take. The participants need not fill in their basic information. The registration form data is fetched into the pre-test form. The participant can select appropriate details, confirm, and move ahead. The participants answer a given set of questions, which are evaluated. The scores are calculated but not displayed. Once the participant submits the form, the name no longer appears in the list.
The third tool is to be used after conducting the training session (three days post pretest). This tool also fetches relevant participant details (name, district, health facility type, designation), and the participant must answer the set of the same questions as in the pre-training form. Each question has a score calculation. The final score of the participants is also calculated but not displayed on the participants' screen.
The fourth and fifth tools capture feedback regarding the training session from both participants and the trainers. The details like district, facility name, and type, are fetched from the preloaded datasets. The names of the participants and other participant details are fetched from the registration tool dataset. Further, as the participants fill out the feedback form, the name of the participant is removed from the list. This implies that the participant list is reduced to only those participants who have not filled out the form and gradually does not display any names. The experience of conducting the training is captured in the feedback form for trainers, and similarly for participants’.
The final tool is the evaluation form. This tool gets all the data fetched from registration forms and the pre-and post-test scores of participants and lets the user print the scorecard for different participants. This also includes all the participant scorecard details and whether he/she has passed or not. This serves as the benchmark for assessing the training material.
5. SurveyCTO features used
The following features were used for form designing:
- Search, Concat function
- Pull data function
- If conditions
- format-date-time
- Preloading files
- image, geo point field type
- HTML functionality
- Datasets
- Form publishing and attaching into data server datasets (used both long and wide data publishing format)
- Field plugins- search- select- one and table-list-print (to print)
6. Customization and improvements
- For the Registration form, you can include your own sites inside the ‘training_cite.csv’ file.
- You can add as many study-related questions as you wish to the Pre-Training Post-Training forms.
- You can use SurveyCTO integration with Google Sheets to keep track of all the participants registered in the programme.
- You can customize the field plugin files (if you have the technical resources to do so) to suit your requirements as we customized the table-list-field plugin of SurveyCTO to table-list-print. This table-list-print field plugin allows users to print details such as results and analysis in a tabular layout, with just a click for official records. This prints only the part that is displayed inside the question text or label screen. Users have the flexibility to specify the table headers according to their requirements. Additionally, the print function enables users to print details such as results and analysis in a tabular layout, with just a click.
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