title: Distance education for tobacco reduction with Inuit frontline health workers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tobacco reduction is a major priority in Canadian Inuit communities. However, many Inuit frontline health workers lacked the knowledge, confidence and support to address the tobacco epidemic. Given vast distances, high costs of face-to-face training and previous successful pilots using distance education, this method was chosen for a national tobacco reduction course.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To provide distance education about tobacco reduction to at least 25 frontline health workers from all Inuit regions of Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  Promising practices globally were assessed in a literature survey. The National Inuit Tobacco Task Group guided the project. Participants were selected from across Inuit Nunangat. They chose a focus from a "menu" of 6 course options, completed a pre-test to assess individual learning needs and chose which community project(s) to complete. Course materials were mailed, and trainers provided intensive, individualized support through telephone, fax and e-mail. The course ended with an open-book post-test. Follow-up support continued for several months post-training.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 30 participants, 27 (90%) completed the course. The mean pre-test score was 72% (range: 38-98%). As the post-test was done using open books, everyone scored 100%, with a mean improvement of 28% (range: 2-62%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although it was often challenging to contact participants through phone, a distance education approach was very practical in a northern context. Learning is more concrete when it happens in a real-life context. As long as adequate support is provided, we recommend individualized distance education to others working in circumpolar regions.
authors.affiliation: Consultancy for Alternative Education, Montreal, Canada. robcollins.cae@me.com
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: Merryl
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hammond
authors.forename: Catherine L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Carry
authors.forename: Dianne
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kinnon
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Killulark
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nevala
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D003150:Community Health Workers / Q000193:education*; D003479:Curriculum; D020375:Education, Distance / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D006801:Humans; D004930:Inuit; D020957:Nunavut; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000208:ethnology / Q000379:methods*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention
keywords: Canada; Inuit; distance education; health workers; self-directed learning; tobacco reduction