Accelerating Actions Against Malnutrition: A Call for Strengthening the Capacity of Health and Nutrition Program Staff in Devbhumi Dwarka, Gujarat

Background The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), a flagship program of the Government of India, is addressing the malnutrition, health, and development needs of young children, pregnant and lactating women, and adolescent girls for more than four decades. Although the program has been implemented for the past four decades, it could not bring the expected outcomes in terms of reducing malnutrition. The program's limited success can be attributed, among others, to insufficient skills of the program staff and inadequate convergence with the existing nutrition programs implemented through the health department. For the success of any program, advanced knowledge, improved skills, motivation, and the right attitude of the program staff are essential and can be instilled through the need-based training of the staff. The present study aimed at identifying gaps in existing training for health and ICDS program staff in the district and developing a capacity-building strategy to strengthen the implementation of the nutrition program in the district, including "Project Tushti," which aimed at combating malnutrition in Devbhumi Dwarka district of the Gujarat state. Methods The training needs assessment (TNA) was conducted using a descriptive cross-sectional study design. TNA is a method to determine program gaps and training required to fill in programmatic gaps. Appropriate use of TNA can promote designing effective training and nurture program staff productivity, thereby ensuring efficient use of resources for achieving desired program outcomes within the prescribed timeline. Considering the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-led lockdown, convenient sampling was used to reach out to potential study participants. A total of 150 program staff from both health departments (particularly medical officers, taluka health officer, National Adolescent Health Program - Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) medical officer, community health officer from health and wellness center, female health workers, and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs)) and ICDS team (chief district program officer, supervisor, Anganwadi workers, and helpers at Anganwadi center) were interviewed telephonically using a semi-structured interview guide. Interviews were conducted between May 10 and 16, 2020. Results Results reveal that about 49% of the health team and ICDS staff had not received nutrition-specific training in the last year. In terms of coverage, the training coverage was partial, and training content on nutrition was limited. Training contents were divided based on supervisory and implementing cadre feedback. Participants expressed the need for in-depth nutritional refresher training, including topics such as community-based management of acute malnutrition, identification of malnutrition, use of ICDS common application software, and soft skills such as communication skills and supportive supervision. Although 62% of participants preferred the face-to-face medium of training, they agreed with the online mode of training. Conclusion Findings indicate an urgent need for training, particularly in the district's nutrition domain for the staff involved in the implementation, and soft skills for supervisory level staff. Innovative training approaches using the digital platform can be explored for training delivery. The paper discusses innovative capacity-building strategies to address training needs effectively.