Health Programs

Manuals and Technical Resources:  Trachoma Health Education Materials Library

A health worker in Ethiopia leads a trachoma control meeting. Many remote villages

without schools rely on these workers to advocate for improved sanitation.

Trachoma control programs worldwide develop manuals to facilitate the training of health educators. Training sessions teach educators and village health workers about all four aspects of the SAFE strategy. These sessions usually last a few days. Many manuals are produced in the local language in order to be available to a wider audience.

Health and sanitation workers participate in trachoma training activities in Ghana.

Designing a Manual and Training Program

When designing a training program, begin by outlining the training objectives. What is the purpose of the training activity and what should participants learn? For example, to develop a training activity on latrine construction an outline might look like this:

• Introduction
  
• Transmission of trachoma: the role of flies
  
• The importance of fly control
  
• Latrine construction guidelines and instructions
  
• Latrine maintenance
  
• Training of community volunteers and health workers
  
• Approaches to community involvement
  
• Latrine promotion
  
• Supervision

Select trainers: Who will be your "experts". Work with them to design the training program. Use their input to develop the text of the manual. Include pictures and visual aids to demonstrate key ideas where appropriate. Use language the target audience will understand. Remember to define all technical vocabulary. Develop a training program that balances direct instruction with participatory activities, such as ice-breakers, demonstrations, and group problem-solving activities.

Pre-Testing Manuals

Pre-test the manual with a sample group representative of your training participants. Verify that the format of the manual is logical and clear. Ask the sample group if they found any of the training activities to be culturally inappropriate.

Remember that the manual should have more specific content than the training program itself. The manual is a resource that participants can use as they practice the skills they have learned in training. Training manuals that include additional case examples and exercises encourage the participants to continue learning the topics covered.

An instructor reviews the importance of community stakeholders in latrine

promotion at a regional training in northern Ghana.

World Health Organization Trachoma Publications

 

View the Health Education Materials Tutorial to learn more about the design and development of health education materials.  Back to Home