Objective
To describe training needs and analyze perceived barriers to accessing virtual training among health professionals with technical and managerial roles in the National Integrated Health System of El Salvador.
Method
This research analyzes a survey on training needs conducted by the El Salvador node of the Virtual Campus of Public Health of the Pan American Health Organization. The entire population (100%) registered as managers and technical personnel were included. Professionals with more than 20% missing data for variables of interest were excluded. The analysis made use of proportions, ratios, and an ordinal logistic regression model, along with artificial intelligence and QDA Miner Lite® for content analysis of open-ended questions.
Results
A total of 519 records were analyzed: 68% (95% CI: 63.7-71.9%) were women and 37.8% (95% CI: 33.6-42.1) were between 30 to 39 years of age; 79.0% (95% CI: 73.4-83.5%) of managers identified topics of institutional interest and 96.1% (95% CI: 92.5-98.1%) of technical personnel reported taking courses that include topics related to their profession. The barriers associated with completing a course were time constraints (proportional odds ration [OR]: (13.11; 95% CI: 7.3-24.4) and being female (OR: 95% CI: 1.1-2.5).
Conclusion
Training needs for managers were most frequently reported in the areas of management and administration; for technical personnel, training needs were mainly in the area of specialized care. Being female and time constraints were factors associated with completing online training programs.