Development of Health Policy and Strategy Developmental Expertise Course for Ministry of Public Health Personnel

Abstract

The purposes of this research and development study were to (1) develop the Health Policy and Strategy Developmental Expertise course for Ministry of Public Health personnel, and (2) study the results from implementing the expertise course. The expertise course was studied in 2 phases, the course development phase and the course evaluation phase. The data collecting tools consist of: (1) the questionnaire for evaluating Health Policy and Strategy understanding before beginning the course, (2) the developed Health Policy and Strategy Developmental Expertise course, and (3) the questionnaire for evaluating the course. The data were analyzed by frequency distributions, means, and standard deviations. The results from the study; on one hand, the Health Policy and Strategy Expertise Course consists of 3 units of the Strategy and Planning Division: Health Policy and Strategy, Leadership, and Management. Among these 3 training units, Health Policy and Strategy took the highest responsibility due to the results of the evaluation of health policy and strategy understanding before taking the course. On the other hand, in the field of implementation of the course from the assessment of the course at least 6 months after training, the samples who were trained took the knowledge gained from the training to perform the actual work at high level. According to the results of the assessment by supervisors and colleagues, trainees had applied the knowledge gained from the course to the operation at high level. Health policy had been implemented in conjunction with the relevant authorities. Trainees were able to reduce working redundancy, in terms of time, budget, actions, and evaluations, to achieve task goals with high level of achievement. Thus, all key informants expressed that the Health Policy and Strategy Expertise Course was considered as a beneficial course for their organizations.