TulaHealth Supports Critical COVID-19 Training for Frontline Health Workers

In April 2020, the Ministry of Health in Guatemala was ramping up its response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and asked TulaHealth and its local partner - TulaSalud - to develop a distance education course for frontline health workers. A few weeks later in early May, we successfully launched a two-week Microtraining for COVID-19 Prevention, Control, and Management course for rural frontline health workers. Our technical team optimized the digital health system to rapidly send course content directly to frontline health workers’ smartphones via the 'WhatsApp' mobile application, minimizing face-to-face contact. Course materials, including all presentations and multimedia in Spanish, were made available online to anyone in the world.

More than 3,500 health workers completed the Microtraining for COVID-19 course, including more than 2,100 women and 2,300 indigenous health workers from the regions of Alta Verapaz, Quiché, Huehuetenango and Sololá. Health workers participating in the Microtraining for COVID-19 program were able to use their smartphones and communication network, which are integral to TulaHealth’s digital health system.