Motivating health workers through nutrition training: an example from Egypt

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Abstract
Inappropriate training of primary health care staff and underuse of health facilities are two widely recognized problems in Egypt. Collaboration between the regional health services, a university nutrition department and external technical assistance enabled a successful programme of nutrition training to be set up in the governorate of Alexandria. Locally adapted training materials were produced. The training improved teamwork in the health centre and increased levels of nutrition activities within mother and child health (MCH) care. This, together with wide publicity of the aims of the programme, increased activity, continuity of care and established mothers' groups, resulted in greater uptake of services, and better infant feeding practices. Regular supervision of staff, using field staff as trainers, and constructive feedback were identified as factors which increased the motivation and morale of health centre personnel. The integration of the project with local health management structures ensured that the lessons learnt were well disseminated and incorporated into future planning. Recommendations are made in this paper on community consultation, supervision by health care managers, and on local analysis and relevance of the health information.

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