Contribuições da Educação à Distância (EaD) na implementação da Estratégia Amamenta e Alimenta Brasil

Abstract

Summary: The Breastfeeding and Feeding Strategy for Brazil (EAAB) aims to promote breastfeeding and healthy complementary feeding and, since 2020, has been offering tutor training through distance learning courses: Course 1 - Food Guide for Brazilian children under two years of age and Course 2 - training for Strategy tutors. The two training modalities are: one self-instructional for both courses and another with monitoring only for course 2. The article aims to evaluate the contribution of self-instructional and tutor-supported distance learning courses to the implementation of EAAB. This is a quantitative, before-and-after evaluative study conducted in 2023 with EAAB tutors linked to the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS). Knowledge and self-efficacy were assessed using questionnaires administered before and after the training, involving both paired and unpaired analyses. In Course 1, knowledge remained similar after training (p>0.05). In the self-instructional Course 2(where the maximum score on the knowledge assessment questionnaire was 10), there was a significant increase in knowledge in both paired (initial mean score of 6,74 and final 7,30; p=0.007) and unpaired (initial mean of 6,64 and 7,04 after the course; p=0.008) analyses. In the tutored Course 2, the difference was significant only in the unpaired analysis (6,05 to 6,79; p=0.004). Self-efficacy at the end of the training was similar across the modalities (p>0.2). This study indicates the potential of self-instructional courses for training health professionals in the SUS.