A Distance Blended Learning Program to Upgrade the Clinical Competence of District Non-doctor Anesthesia Providers in Nepal.

Background: Across Nepal, anesthesia at a district level is provided mostly by non-doctor anesthesia providers (anesthesia assistants-AAs). Nepal's Government recognized the need to sustain competence with continuous professional development and to upgrade 6-month trained working AAs to professional equivalence with the new national standard of 12-month training. As they are essential district health workers and AA clinical training sites are full, an innovative distance blended learning, competency-based, upgrade 1-year course was developed and conducted in 2014-2017 for two batches.

Tablet e-Logbooks: Four Thousand Clinical Cases and Complications e-Logged by 14 Nondoctor Anesthesia Providers in Nepal.

Background: To meet the need for essential surgery across rural Nepal, anesthesia at district level is delivered by nondoctor anesthetists. They require support to maintain confidence and competence, and upgraded professional registration to secure their status. To meet these needs, a distance-blended learning course was pioneered and delivered.

Electronic diagnostic algorithms to assist mid-level health care workers in Nepal: a mixed-method exploratory study.

Introduction: The use of mobile health applications for data collection and disease management by rural health care workers in developing countries has been shown to be accepted by patients and health care workers. However, the acceptances of diagnostic decision applications have not been studied. Moreover, verbal acceptance of these tools has not been shown to equate with actual usage by the health care workers when use is not compulsory.