1323. Implementation and Effectiveness of the Asia Pacific HIV Practice Course: Building Capacity of Healthcare Workers in the Region

BACKGROUND: Building the capacity of healthcare workers (HCW) can positively influence service quality and patient care. Given the limited HIV training opportunities in the Asia Pacific Region, the Asia Pacific HIV Practice Course (APHPC) aims to improve knowledge and skills and encourage patient-centered practice. METHODS: The APHPC is organized by an interprofessional organizing committee. The course was developed based on a needs assessment of HCWs in the region and is run over 4 days. Using didactic and interactive learning approaches, the course covers psychosocial, biomedical and service delivery topics. One hundred HCWs, predominantly nurses, social workers/counselors and, pharmacists have attended the course over 2 years (2016 and 2017). Participants have attended from Singapore, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Pre- and post-course evaluations were completed, as well as daily session evaluations and a 3-month post-course evaluation. Participants rated their confidence from 1 to 5 (not confident–very confident). A paired-samples t-test was conducted to compare mean (M) confidence levels pre- and post-course in the various topics covered. RESULTS: There was significant improvement in mean confidence scores pre-course (M = 3.40, SD 0.27) and post-course (M = 4.09, SD = 0.13); t(11)= 13.1958, P < 0.0001. This was seen across all topics (figure) with the most marked improvement found in models of care and barriers to care, topics that are not routinely or explicitly covered in the same detail or frequency as HIV basics, testing, treatment and prevention. In the 3-month post-course survey, participants shared the changes they have made to their local practice since attending the APHPC. Changes include, additional staff training, revisions to counseling models and services and the implementation of monitoring and evaluation structures. CONCLUSION: The APHPC has proven to be an impactful and highly evaluated course. To ensure the course continues to influence and improve practice, the content of the course can be expanded to cover nonstandard topics, and further interactive learning experiences can be incorporated. DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.