Building a Virtual Global Knowledge Network During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: The Infection Prevention and Control Global Webinar Series

Abstract

Introduction The 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been an unprecedented global health challenge. Traditional modes of knowledge dissemination have not been feasible. A rapid solution was needed to share guidance and implementation examples among the global Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) community. We designed the IPC Global Webinar Series to bring together subject matter experts and IPC professionals in the fight against COVID-19. Methods The Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) model was adapted to create an interactive global knowledge network. Speakers and panelists provided presentations and answers to questions from participants. The webinars were simultaneously interpreted to five languages and recorded for later access. Results Thirteen webinar sessions were completed from May 14 through August 6, 2020. On average, 634 participants attended each session (range: 393 – 1,181). Each session was represented by participants from an average of over 100 countries; sessions 1-3 had participation from approximate 120 countries, and sessions 6 and 12 had participation from approximately 80 countries. Discussion The IPC Global Webinar Series shared critical information and promoted peer-to-peer learning during the COVID-19 pandemic response. The webinar sessions reached a broader audience than many in-person events. The webinar series was rapidly scaled and can be rapidly re-activated as needed. Our lessons learned in designing and implementing the series can inform design of other global health virtual knowledge networks. The continued and expanded use of adapted virtual communities of practice and other learning networks for the IPC community can serve as a valuable tool for addressing COVID-19 and other infectious disease threats.

Building global capacity for COVID-19 vaccination through interactive virtual learning

“…WHO, TechNet-21, Project ECHO, and other partners are now considering how best to incorporate learnings from this initiative into future digital health capacity-building efforts for emergency response and routine health programs. The findings align with previous studies suggesting that interactive needs- and people-centered digital health can be effectively used for capacity building in LMICs [ 12 , 14 ]. For example, participants from the African region comprised about 46% of the total attendees of this series.…”

Training a Continent: A Process Evaluation of Virtual Training on Infection Prevention and Control in Africa During COVID-19

“…The COVID-19 pandemic hastened digital access across Africa but also exacerbated inequalities among those who could not access good quality digital space, which is inevitably a key limitation of the training modality chosen here. 21,22 In particular, the minimal uptake in Arabic-speaking countries-where there were a high proportion of COVID-19 cases during the training period-and in Portuguese-speaking countries highlights the need to include a wider range of Africa Union languages in similar initiatives in the future. Regarding engagement with situated learning opportunities, the Q&A sessions were very well utilized and praised by participants; in contrast, community of practice engagement was low in both rounds during the evaluation time frame and mostly used for nontechnical content.…”

Evaluation of a Virtual Networking Event for Emerging Women Leaders in Global Health

“…With the shift to virtual networking, recreating these experiences can be a challenge [ 23 ]. Designing purposeful and interactive activities to facilitate active participation and discussion, and peer-to-peer interaction is important when planning virtual networking events [ 24 ]. Additionally, the use of the chat function in online meeting platforms can help democratize opportunities for speaking up [ 25 ], which has historically been difficult for women to do [ 13 ].…”