Evaluation of an adapted virtual training for master trainers of the WHO Caregiver Skills Training Program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alaa T Ibrahim, Afiqah Yusuf, Hannah Pickard and 5 others
PMID 37198742WHAT IT FOUND
After remote training, 11 of 12 master trainers achieved moderate or good agreement with an expert when scoring caregiver intervention videos.
This shows remote fidelity monitoring is feasible, though the small sample and high dropout limit confidence.
Key findings
01Eleven of the twelve remaining master trainers achieved moderate or good scoring reliability with an expert during the independent coding phase.
02Scoring reliability was not stable over the seven weeks of supported coding, with most timepoints showing significantly lower agreement than the final week.
03Seven of the nineteen initial participants dropped out due to pandemic-related service issues, organizational changes, or other reasons.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was very small (n=12) after a high dropout rate (37% of initial participants), which limits generalizability and introduces potential attrition bias. Reliability was judged against only one expert, so it is unclear if the agreement would hold against a different expert or a panel. The study could not determine if the variability in scoring was due to the training or simply the differing difficulty of the videos used. The study was underpowered for the statistical analysis chosen, despite significant results.
Declared interests
Funding was provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada and Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Santé. Support was also acknowledged from the WHO-Autism Speaks CST Team.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that remote training alone ensures consistent scoring reliability over time. The study showed significant instability in scores during the supported weeks, and the final good results relied on a very small group of trainers who persisted through high dropout rates.