Community health agents training on hearing health: effectiveness of videoconference.

Background: training of Community Health Agents on hearing health through videoconference.

Aim: to verify the effectiveness of a training program for community health agents, through videoconference, on child hearing health.

Method: participants of the study were 50 professionals who were randomly divided in two groups: 31 community health agents were physically present in the training program and 19 participated via videoconference. Training was provided in eight hours, through classes and using specific material adapted from the Primary ear and hearing care training resource - basic, intermediate and advanced levels for both groups, simultaneously. Training was organized and evaluated according to a previous study.

Results: both groups presented a statistically significant difference when comparing pre and post training performances. However, for the group of community health agents who were physically present during the training program, this difference was higher not only when considering the final total scores but also when looking at the individual topics.

Conclusion: videoconference was effective as a learning tool for the training of community health agents on child hearing health. However, this instrument should be used as a complementary material to the traditional form of training.