Evaluating intra-action reviews at points of entry: ongoing learning opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Doret de Rooij; Miriam van de Watering; Remco van Dijk; Thijs Veenstra; Rolf Appels; Corien Swaan; Aura Timen

doi:10.1186/s12889-022-14706-4

Evaluating intra-action reviews at points of entry: ongoing learning opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Doret de Rooij^*
, Miriam van de Watering
, Remco van Dijk
, Thijs Veenstra
, Rolf Appels
, Corien Swaan
, Aura Timen

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Background: Long-lasting crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, require proper interim evaluation in order to optimize response. The World Health Organization and the European Center for Disease Control have recently promoted the in(tra)-action review (IAR) method for this purpose. We systematically evaluated the added value of two IARs performed in the Dutch point of entry (PoE) setting. Methods: Two online, 4-hour IAR meetings were organized in March 2021, for ports and airports respectively, to reflect on the ongoing COVID-19 response. Topics discussed were selected through a survey among participants. Participants were mainly self-selected by the (air)port public health service. Evaluation of the IAR method consisted of participant evaluation through a questionnaire, and hot and cold debriefs of the organizing team. Evaluation of the impact of the IAR was done through analysis of the meeting results, and a 3-month follow-up of the actions proposed during the meetings. Results: Thirty-nine professionals joined the IAR meetings. In the participant evaluation (n = 18), 89% agreed or totally agreed the IAR made it possible to identify challenges and problems in the COVID-19 response at PoE. Participants especially appreciated the resulting insight in regional and national partners. Regarding the online setting of the meeting, participants suggested to choose accessible and familiar online tools. After 3 months, all national actions and actions for ports had been executed; some regional actions for airports required further attention. A major result was a new meeting structure for all ports and the participating national authorities in which remaining and newly occurring issues were discussed. Conclusions: Based on the evaluations, we conclude that the IAR method can be of value during long-term crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic response. Although it is challenging to dedicate time and effort to the organization and attendance of IAR meetings during crisis, the IAR method is feasible in an online setting if appropriate organizing and technical capacity is available. A participatory set-up supports the IAR method as a starting point for continuous exchange and learning during ongoing crises.

Original language	English
Article number	36
Pages (from-to)	1-13
Number of pages	13
Journal	BMC Public Health
Volume	23
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14706-4
Publication status	Published - 6 Jan 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We sincerely thank all IAR participants for their input, collaboration and inspiration during a challenging time. We thank Jeannette de Boer as external moderator and consultant on learning methodology evaluations, and Dorothee Rosskamp for her feedback to the organizing team. We thank Joerg Raab, Annemieke de Raad and Machiel Noijen for their constructive feedback on the manuscript. To the colleagues from WHO EURO and other European countries we’d like to stress that we appreciated their interest and reflections on the IAR methodology.

Funding Information:
This publication has been produced with the support from the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. For financial sources, this study was included among more general formulated goals. None of the sources were used or granted for specific parts of the study. The content of this publication represents the views of the authors only and is their sole responsibility.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).

Funding

We sincerely thank all IAR participants for their input, collaboration and inspiration during a challenging time. We thank Jeannette de Boer as external moderator and consultant on learning methodology evaluations, and Dorothee Rosskamp for her feedback to the organizing team. We thank Joerg Raab, Annemieke de Raad and Machiel Noijen for their constructive feedback on the manuscript. To the colleagues from WHO EURO and other European countries we’d like to stress that we appreciated their interest and reflections on the IAR methodology. This publication has been produced with the support from the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. For financial sources, this study was included among more general formulated goals. None of the sources were used or granted for specific parts of the study. The content of this publication represents the views of the authors only and is their sole responsibility.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

COVID-19
In-action review
Infectious diseases
Intra-action review

Access to Document

10.1186/s12889-022-14706-4

Persistent URL (handle)

Persistent link

Cite this

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title = "Evaluating intra-action reviews at points of entry: ongoing learning opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic",

abstract = "Background: Long-lasting crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, require proper interim evaluation in order to optimize response. The World Health Organization and the European Center for Disease Control have recently promoted the in(tra)-action review (IAR) method for this purpose. We systematically evaluated the added value of two IARs performed in the Dutch point of entry (PoE) setting. Methods: Two online, 4-hour IAR meetings were organized in March 2021, for ports and airports respectively, to reflect on the ongoing COVID-19 response. Topics discussed were selected through a survey among participants. Participants were mainly self-selected by the (air)port public health service. Evaluation of the IAR method consisted of participant evaluation through a questionnaire, and hot and cold debriefs of the organizing team. Evaluation of the impact of the IAR was done through analysis of the meeting results, and a 3-month follow-up of the actions proposed during the meetings. Results: Thirty-nine professionals joined the IAR meetings. In the participant evaluation (n = 18), 89\% agreed or totally agreed the IAR made it possible to identify challenges and problems in the COVID-19 response at PoE. Participants especially appreciated the resulting insight in regional and national partners. Regarding the online setting of the meeting, participants suggested to choose accessible and familiar online tools. After 3 months, all national actions and actions for ports had been executed; some regional actions for airports required further attention. A major result was a new meeting structure for all ports and the participating national authorities in which remaining and newly occurring issues were discussed. Conclusions: Based on the evaluations, we conclude that the IAR method can be of value during long-term crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic response. Although it is challenging to dedicate time and effort to the organization and attendance of IAR meetings during crisis, the IAR method is feasible in an online setting if appropriate organizing and technical capacity is available. A participatory set-up supports the IAR method as a starting point for continuous exchange and learning during ongoing crises.",

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note = "Funding Information: We sincerely thank all IAR participants for their input, collaboration and inspiration during a challenging time. We thank Jeannette de Boer as external moderator and consultant on learning methodology evaluations, and Dorothee Rosskamp for her feedback to the organizing team. We thank Joerg Raab, Annemieke de Raad and Machiel Noijen for their constructive feedback on the manuscript. To the colleagues from WHO EURO and other European countries we{\textquoteright}d like to stress that we appreciated their interest and reflections on the IAR methodology. Funding Information: This publication has been produced with the support from the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. For financial sources, this study was included among more general formulated goals. None of the sources were used or granted for specific parts of the study. The content of this publication represents the views of the authors only and is their sole responsibility. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023, The Author(s).",

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doi = "10.1186/s12889-022-14706-4",

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AU - de Rooij, Doret

AU - van de Watering, Miriam

AU - van Dijk, Remco

AU - Veenstra, Thijs

AU - Appels, Rolf

AU - Swaan, Corien

AU - Timen, Aura

N1 - Funding Information: We sincerely thank all IAR participants for their input, collaboration and inspiration during a challenging time. We thank Jeannette de Boer as external moderator and consultant on learning methodology evaluations, and Dorothee Rosskamp for her feedback to the organizing team. We thank Joerg Raab, Annemieke de Raad and Machiel Noijen for their constructive feedback on the manuscript. To the colleagues from WHO EURO and other European countries we’d like to stress that we appreciated their interest and reflections on the IAR methodology. Funding Information: This publication has been produced with the support from the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. For financial sources, this study was included among more general formulated goals. None of the sources were used or granted for specific parts of the study. The content of this publication represents the views of the authors only and is their sole responsibility. Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).

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N2 - Background: Long-lasting crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, require proper interim evaluation in order to optimize response. The World Health Organization and the European Center for Disease Control have recently promoted the in(tra)-action review (IAR) method for this purpose. We systematically evaluated the added value of two IARs performed in the Dutch point of entry (PoE) setting. Methods: Two online, 4-hour IAR meetings were organized in March 2021, for ports and airports respectively, to reflect on the ongoing COVID-19 response. Topics discussed were selected through a survey among participants. Participants were mainly self-selected by the (air)port public health service. Evaluation of the IAR method consisted of participant evaluation through a questionnaire, and hot and cold debriefs of the organizing team. Evaluation of the impact of the IAR was done through analysis of the meeting results, and a 3-month follow-up of the actions proposed during the meetings. Results: Thirty-nine professionals joined the IAR meetings. In the participant evaluation (n = 18), 89% agreed or totally agreed the IAR made it possible to identify challenges and problems in the COVID-19 response at PoE. Participants especially appreciated the resulting insight in regional and national partners. Regarding the online setting of the meeting, participants suggested to choose accessible and familiar online tools. After 3 months, all national actions and actions for ports had been executed; some regional actions for airports required further attention. A major result was a new meeting structure for all ports and the participating national authorities in which remaining and newly occurring issues were discussed. Conclusions: Based on the evaluations, we conclude that the IAR method can be of value during long-term crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic response. Although it is challenging to dedicate time and effort to the organization and attendance of IAR meetings during crisis, the IAR method is feasible in an online setting if appropriate organizing and technical capacity is available. A participatory set-up supports the IAR method as a starting point for continuous exchange and learning during ongoing crises.

AB - Background: Long-lasting crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, require proper interim evaluation in order to optimize response. The World Health Organization and the European Center for Disease Control have recently promoted the in(tra)-action review (IAR) method for this purpose. We systematically evaluated the added value of two IARs performed in the Dutch point of entry (PoE) setting. Methods: Two online, 4-hour IAR meetings were organized in March 2021, for ports and airports respectively, to reflect on the ongoing COVID-19 response. Topics discussed were selected through a survey among participants. Participants were mainly self-selected by the (air)port public health service. Evaluation of the IAR method consisted of participant evaluation through a questionnaire, and hot and cold debriefs of the organizing team. Evaluation of the impact of the IAR was done through analysis of the meeting results, and a 3-month follow-up of the actions proposed during the meetings. Results: Thirty-nine professionals joined the IAR meetings. In the participant evaluation (n = 18), 89% agreed or totally agreed the IAR made it possible to identify challenges and problems in the COVID-19 response at PoE. Participants especially appreciated the resulting insight in regional and national partners. Regarding the online setting of the meeting, participants suggested to choose accessible and familiar online tools. After 3 months, all national actions and actions for ports had been executed; some regional actions for airports required further attention. A major result was a new meeting structure for all ports and the participating national authorities in which remaining and newly occurring issues were discussed. Conclusions: Based on the evaluations, we conclude that the IAR method can be of value during long-term crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic response. Although it is challenging to dedicate time and effort to the organization and attendance of IAR meetings during crisis, the IAR method is feasible in an online setting if appropriate organizing and technical capacity is available. A participatory set-up supports the IAR method as a starting point for continuous exchange and learning during ongoing crises.

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KW - In-action review

KW - Infectious diseases

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Evaluating intra-action reviews at points of entry: ongoing learning opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Persistent URL (handle)

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Cite this