Perceptions of health personnel on continuing education: Case of Sominé Dolo Hospital in Mopti

Abstract

The shortage of qualified human resources for health has become an international concern and is the subject of mutual commitment from both international organizations and African governments. This situation is perceived by the Malian government through the development of a national strategy for continuing education for socio-health personnel in October 1999. In practice, training provided as part of the implementation of specific health programs often does not correspond to identified needs and is not part of a coherent training plan. Despite these difficulties, health workers are becoming increasingly aware of the need for continuing education throughout their careers. Nowadays, very few statistics are available on the perception of health personnel on this type of training in Mali. The objective of this study was to contribute to improving the quality of care provided in health facilities. To achieve this objective, a study was conducted at the Sominé Dolo Hospital in Mopti (HSDM) in 2015 to assess the perception of health personnel on continuing education. This public hospital establishment constitutes the last reference level of the medical pyramid of the fifth economic region of Mali. The analysis of the results made it possible to obtain information on the organization of continuing education at the HSDM, the perception of health personnel on this training and its impact on the quality of services. Although 16.7% of the staff declared themselves satisfied with the training received and 33.7% thought that it is necessary in the professional career, some shortcomings were identified, in particular, the absence of a training plan and insufficient funding. Faced with these shortcomings, proposals for improvement were made.