There is no conflict of interest.
Citation
Golston, O., Prelip, M., Brickley, D. B., Cass, A., Chen, L., Dorian, A., Gandelman, A., Keh, C., Maher, A., Myrick, R., Reid, M. J. A., White, K., Willard-Grace, R., & Shafir, S. (2021). Establishment and evaluation of a large contact-tracing and case investigation virtual training academy. American Journal of Public Health, 111(11), 1934-1938.
https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2021.306468
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine the impact of the Virtual Training Academy (VTA) on training outcomes.
- The study used an interrupted time series design using data from pre-and post-training assessments. The authors used statistical tests to compare the outcomes of participants before and after they participated in the training.
- The study found a significant relationship between participation in the VTA and increased knowledge and perceived skills for contact tracing.
- This study receives a low causal evidence rating. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Virtual Training Academy (VTA); other factors are likely to have contributed.
Intervention Examined
The Virtual Training Academy (VTA)
Features of the Intervention
The Virtual Training Academy (VTA) was a week-long online program provided by the California Department of Public Health. It aimed to train individuals as case investigators and contact tracers to help stop the spread of COVID-19. There were originally two options: a 14-hour course for contact tracers and an 18-hour course for case investigators. The contact tracer course ended in December 2020. The program included live webinars that emphasized skill development and hands-on learning through role-playing activities. Participants also received extra materials like recorded webinars, slides, handouts, and demonstration videos.
Features of the Study
The study used an interrupted time series design to examine the impact of the VTA on knowledge and perceived skills for contact tracing. The sample included potential contact tracers and case investigators from 56 of the 61 local health jurisdictions and more than 100 state departments. The participants included public health workers and government employees, many of whom lacked experience in health-related jobs. In total, 1,145 trainees completed the contact tracing course, while 3,352 completed the case investigation course. No additional demographic information about the sample was provided.
Data for the study were obtained from pre-and post-training assessments completed by participants between June 29, 2020, and March 22, 2021. The assessments included true/false and multiple-choice questions to test the knowledge of course concepts. They also had questions that evaluated how well participants believed they could perform job skills. The authors used statistical tests to compare the outcomes of participants before and after they completed the training.
Findings
Training
- The study found a significant relationship VTA participation and increased contact tracing knowledge and perceived skills.
- The study also found a significant relationship VTA participation and increased case investigation knowledge and perceived skills.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The authors compared the outcomes of participants measured once before and once after they participated in VTA. For these types of designs, the authors must observe outcomes for multiple periods before the intervention to rule out the possibility that participants had increasing or decreasing trends in the outcomes examined before enrollment in the program. That is, if participants who had increasing knowledge trends tended to enroll in the program, we would anticipate further increases over time, even if they did not participate in the program. Without knowing the trends before program enrollment, we cannot rule this out. Therefore, the study receives a low causal evidence rating.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low, because the authors did not account for trends in outcomes before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Virtual Training Academy; other factors are likely to have contributed.