Case Study: Success with Blended Learning for Washington State Department of Health

The Office of Healthy Communities at the Washington Department of Health (DOH) faced the challenge of training 500 community health workers (CHWs) in a scalable and cost-effective way. The program needed to accommodate the diverse schedules and learning styles of CHWs and overcome the obstacles of limited funding and difficulty in reaching remote locations.

Solution:

Talance worked with the DOH program to develop a blended learning approach that combined online and in-person training. The program included interactive eLearning modules, webinars, discussion forums, and hands-on activities that allowed CHWs to practice and apply what they learned.

Result:

The blended learning approach developed by Talance and DOH was highly successful, with 90% of participants stating they would recommend the program to other CHWs. A majority of CHWs reported applying the information and skills learned from the core competencies at least sometimes in their work. Employers also saw improvement in their staff’s core competency skills and knowledge after the training.

The blended learning approach provided a flexible and effective way to train CHWs and help them make a positive impact on the health of their communities. CHWs could complete much of the training online at their own pace, reducing travel costs and time away from work. This allowed for greater scalability and cost-effectiveness.

“This online learning solution from Talance was a logical choice for addressing some of our challenges,” says Debbie Spink, an instructor for the program. “E-learning assures all students receive consistent up-to-date quality information and skill building. Students love the freedom it gives them to participate when their schedule permits.”

A majority of CHWs reported applying information and skills learned from the core competencies at least sometimes in their work. Employers also saw improvement in their staff’s core competency skills and knowledge after the training.

Washington DOH stands out from other CHW training programs in both its capacity to train workers and its catalog of courses, which features a core competencies program and several skill-building courses in disease prevention and screening.