Understanding staff competencies and training needs of Environmental Health Professionals in Uganda: an online cross-sectional survey

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Abstract Introduction Environmental health professionals (EHPs) in Uganda refer to Environmental Health Officers, Health Inspectors and Health Assistants who are all responsible for implementing interventions to prevent disease occurrences. These EHPs either work in the public or private sector in various capacities, and their practice is regulated by the Ministry of Health under the Allied Health Professionals Council which is mandated by an Act of Parliament. We therefore assessed the professional competencies and training needs of EHPs across the country. Methods We conducted an online cross-sectional quantitative survey among 360 EHPs in Uganda. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire embedded in Google Forms. the questionnaire was sent to various EHPs in Uganda across various platforms particularly social mediaand the collected data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2016 and Stata version 12. Results Among the respondents, 141 (40.4%) were working as Health Assistants followed by Health Inspectors 84 (24%). Premise inspection and monitoring came out as a key professional competence for many the respondents 276 (68.1%). The training needs identified in the survey were: need to improve their skills in areas of surveillance 230 (56.8%), sanitation marketing techniques (including Community Led Total Sanitation, Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation, and Children's Hygiene and Sanitation Training) and water quality testing 231(57.0%). The survey also identified crucial areas such as health education and communication, disease surveillance and school health (67%) to be lacking among the EHPs. Conclusion There is need for training institutions under the Ministry of Education and Sports, and professional governing agencies under the Ministry of Health to put more emphasis on skills in surveillance and sanitation marketing techniques during training and curriculum design for EHPs. In addition, refresher trainings among EHPs are needed to enhance their knowledge and skills as a form of continuous professional development.

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