I-TECH has partnered with universities and ministries of health (MoH) in the region to develop accessible in-service training opportunities for HIV providers using distance and blended learning.
- Jamaica MOH eLearning Platform: In order to provide a mechanism for ongoing, sustainable, and cost effective in-service HIV training, I-TECH is collaborating with the MoH to identify a web-based platform to host and deliver continuing medical education modules using distance or blended learning. This approach enables providers to build knowledge and skills without taking time away from patients and clinical duties. I-TECH will assist MoH Jamaica personnel to provide ongoing local administration of this learning management system, and to develop a national HIV in-service training plan.
- Online Training in HIV Care for Key Populations: I-TECH will be developing a self-paced, eLearning training module to improve providers’ knowledge, skill, and comfort in providing respectful and gender-affirming care for gay and bisexual men, other men who have sex with men, people of transgender experience, and people doing sex work. This module will be an adaptation of an innovative in-person training program (described above). This online training will be hosted on the Jamaica MoH E-Learning Platform and incorporate video recordings featuring local community members, modeling of best practices, and interactive exercises. .
- HIV Diploma Course: In 2014, I-TECH partnered with the University of the West Indies (UWI) – St. Augustine campus in Trinidad and Tobago to develop a blended eLearning course that enables health care workers to provide high-quality clinical management of patients living with HIV. This ten-month post-graduate diploma program is delivered through a series of online, self-paced courses taught by UWI faculty, and is augmented by synchronous virtual classroom discussions and hands-on, clinical practicum experiences. In recent years, I-TECH worked with UWI to integrate extensive care and treatment content specifically focused on comprehensive care for key populations affected by HIV. The course is offered annually to healthcare workers from PEPFAR priority sites in the region. Course graduates include clinicians from Trinidad, Jamaica, Suriname, and Barbados.