62 R. Schiavo
Training Venues
The advent of new media has provided trainers with additional venues for capa- city building interventions. Several studies and organizations are in the process of analyzing the effectiveness and suitability of new media-based training sessions (for example, Webinars and online courses) for a variety of audiences. While con- clusive evidence may not be available in relation to health communication training, results on other kinds of training (for example, research update courses) “indicate that online and face-to-face courses can be equally effective in delivering profes- sional development materials” (Dillon et al. 2008). However—in addition to ef- fectiveness—cultural- and group-specific preferences as well as cost-effectiveness analyses should also be taken into account in selecting adequate training venues.
For example, “94 % of respondents” to a 2009 survey of public health and health communication professionals who work or plan to work in strategic health commu- nication in urban settings “favored in-person interactive training and 69 % preferred a mentoring program (that may include in-person or online training, followed by periodic update sessions and follow up during the first 6 months to 1 year after training). Only 44 % of respondents preferred webinars and 31 % voted for online training, revealing that while new media and social media-based interventions are increasingly allowing communities and professionals to overcome geographical, cost- and time-related barriers and ultimately have access to some training, interper- sonal communication settings and strategies may continue to be the preferred train- ing modality” (Schiavo and Ramesh 2010). While these findings would need to be validated by larger studies and group-specific observations, some of the criteria that more generally apply to channels selection (for example, task appropriateness; cost- effectiveness; audience characteristics, needs, and preferences; cultural relevance;
and access.) should also apply to the selection of training venues and channels so that training interventions could be customized to specific participant groups.
63 5 Strategic Health Communication in Urban Settings: A Template for Training …
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