Impact evaluation of a workshop on Ponseti technique in treatment of clubfoot at Ile-Ife Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Training of health workers in the use of Ponseti technique is one of the cardinal strategies in disseminating and sustaining this widely accepted and unique way of treating children born with clubfoot .There is scarcity of data on the impact of such a training workshop on health workers (HW). Objectives: To assess the impact of Ponseti training workshop on the knowledge ,attitude and practice of health workers . Methodology: A cross sectional study using a non-controlled pre and post test design was carried out on participants at the Ponseti Workshop which took place at Ile –Ife Osun State of Nigeria on 20^th and 21^st November 2012. All the participants that were physically present during the first and last sessions of the workshop were included in the pre and post test respectively. A questionnaire was administered to the group to assess their knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) before the series of lectures. This was repeated the next day after they had completed their lectures and practical demonstrations to assess the impact on them. The questionnaire was Likert scale type. The results of the pre and post test was collated and analysed. For simplicity of analysis, correct answers that the participant agreed or strongly agreed with were scored 1. Any correct answer that was disagreed with or they were not sure, were scored zero. Results: The pre test questionnaire was distributed to 46 participants but only 40 responded. The mean age was 44.5 yrs (range 29-64 yrs). The highest qualification was FWACS, FMCS (Orthopeadic surgeons) 9 (22.5%), medical doctors with only MBBS 3 (7.5%), physiotherapists 5 (12.5%). Plaster technicians 10 (25%), orthopeadic nurses 2 (0.5%), occupational therapist 1(0.25%), qualification was not indicated in 8 of the respondents. The male to female ratio was 4.6:1. Only 32 participants out of 38 who responded returned the answered questionnaires in the post test. The mean score from the pre test (PT 1) was 66.25% while the mean score for the post test (PT 2 ) was 70.05%. The impact of the workshop on the participant’s knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) was PT 2 minus PT1 which is 3.8 %. Conclusion: The Ponseti workshop had a definite impact on the way the participants would be treating their patients with clubfoot henceforth. More regular workshops would be needed to sustain a cumulative impact on the health workers in this peculiar way of treating this disease condition.