What do we do?

Who are the educators and how are they trained?

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonOur aims (aspirations)

We recruit and support educators who reflect the demographics of our reference population, the balance of clinical, biomedical and social sciences, and who support the principles of socially accountable health professional education.

We engage and support community members and community health service providers as educators in a manner which strengthens local health services.

We assess faculty performance and provide faculty development programs aligned with the goals of socially accountable health professional education.

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonHow do we know we are achieving our aims? (indicators)

The following indicators will assess our progress towards these aims:
  • Educator selection and promotion processes reflect a diverse mix of professional, cultural, social and community backgrounds
  • There is proportional representation and retention of underserved groups in academic, clinical, professional and supporting staff
  • There is use and recognition of community preceptors in underserved communities and across the region
  • The role of community members and preceptors as educators is formalized through adjunct appointments
  • Educator assessment and development programs designed to update and strengthen teaching and clinical skills relevant to priority health care needs
  • Educators undertake training and development in cross-cultural skills
  • Educators undertake professional development in effective community engagement
  • Educator development programs accommodate diverse needs, producing adequate numbers of educators with up-to-date teaching and clinical skills that are relevant to priority health workforce needs
  • Educators from underserved groups are supported and mentored (professional development)

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonWhat data can be gathered? (suggested sources of evidence)

Use one or more of the following methods to gather data to assess progress towards these aims:

Document Review

Below are suggested types of documents used to determine the degree to which your school has recruited and supported educators reflecting the reference population and who support social accountability:
  • Logs or documents describing the number, geographical distribution, number of teaching hours and background of community preceptors
  • Human resources records describing proportional representation of population groups, and education training, among educators
  • Institutional policies on educator employment and promotion of educators from underrepresented groups
  • Policies and programs to support staff/faculty from underserved groups/community/cultures
  • Documents describing school's policy and recognition of community members as educators
  • Surveys and documents on community evaluation, including learner feedback on teaching, and changes made to the methodology due to this feedback
  • Documents and data on the quality of service delivery at teaching sites including community placement reports
  • Evidence of faculty development programs offered, skills assessment reports and attendance at these programs by educators and stakeholders (including cross-cultural skills and socially accountable education
  • Assessment and progress reports documenting input from educators and other stakeholders to determine needs for new and ongoing professional development
  • Audit of educator retention rates and faculty promotion rates
Focus Groups/Interviews

Below are types of questions you can ask in focus group discussions or in interviews with leadership, educators, learners and key stakeholders:
  • What types of professional development have you undertaken? (Educators)
  • What additional professional development suggestions do you have? (Educators)
Additional questions and tools are available here.

Who are our learners?

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonOur aims (aspirations)

We admit learners who reflect the socio-demographic characteristics of the communities and regions that the school serves with a particular focus on underserved population and those deemed most likely to be willing to serve those populations and regions.

We support their development towards becoming socially accountable health practitioners.

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonHow do we know we are achieving our aims? (indicators)

The following indicators will assess our progress towards these aims:
  • Our learners are representative of the communities and regions we serve in terms of socio-economic status, geographic distribution, and representation of groups underserved in terms including religion, caste, or ethnicity
  • The proportion of learner population from the communities and regions the school serves
  • The proportion of learner population from the identified underserved populations
  • The ratio of attrition, progress and completion of learners from underrepresented/underserved populations compared to all learners is similar
  • There are explicit and targeted admission pathways and educational support for learners from underserved populations who may require additional support
  • Learner progress and completion rates across different groups of learners are similar
  • Existence of outreach/orientation programs to secondary schools in underserved communities that include learners from those communities
  • The proportion of learners involved in recruiting via outreach/orientation programs
  • Advocacy efforts to support access to health professional education for underserved groups

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonWhat data can be gathered? (suggested sources of evidence)

Use one or more of the following methods to gather data to assess progress towards these aims:

Document Review

Below are suggested documents used to determine the degree to which your school can identify the background and characteristics of learners:
  • Learner admission and selection policies to identify admission pathways for underserved populations to enter your school
  • Learner database and faculty records describing proportional representation of learner populations (can be assessed through postcode or rural classification)
  • Selection records to monitor numbers of applications from students from underserved populations
  • Documents describing programs or groups that support learners from diverse populations (for example, high school pathways programs, rural learner groups, educator roles to support learners)
Focus Groups/Interviews

Below are the types of questions your school can ask in focus group discussions or in interviews with leadership, educators, learners and key stakeholders:
  • How did you come to study at the school? (Learners)
  • What benefit do you think the students have had on this community? (Community)
  • What contribution do you think students made to the community? (Community)
  • What advocacy efforts have students undertaken in this community? (Community)
  • How are the students supported while in this community? (Financial, infrastructure, mentors)
  • Do you think your interaction with students contributed to their values towards serving the underserved in rural communities?
  • What support is available for learners from non-traditional academic backgrounds within the school? (Educators and leaders)
Additional questions and tools are available here.

What do our learners learn?

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonOur aims (aspirations)

We have a curriculum that embeds the social accountability values of quality, equity, relevance, efficiency and partnership, the principles of universal access to high quality primary health care, and integrates basic and clinical sciences with population health and social sciences.

Our program trains learners to address the identified priority health and health system needs of the communities and regions that we serve (especially underserved populations).

We assess the learners’ acquisition of competencies relating to working in underserved areas and addressing health inequity.

Our learners are learning to be highly competent health professionals with a commitment to learn about the health, cultural and social needs of their community, with a focus on the needs of underserved groups.

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonHow do we know we are achieving our aims? (indicators)

The following indicators will assess our progress towards these aims:
  • The education program, including curriculum content, reflects identified priority health, cultural and social needs of the community
  • We define the knowledge, attitudes and skills needed to meet the health needs of the populations and regions we serve
  • The number or proportion of curriculum weeks allocated to learning about high priority community health needs
  • Curriculum design, delivery, assessment and evaluation reflects the:
    • desired graduate attributes to meet needs
    • principles of primary health care
    • focus on social determinants of health
    • integration of basic and clinical sciences with population health and social sciences
  • Assessments include focus on competencies that will best prepare learners and graduates to meet the health needs of communities, with an emphasis on primary health care and professionalism
  • There is a strong alignment between the school’s community needs assessment outcome and the desired graduate competencies

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonWhat data can be gathered? (suggested sources of evidence)

Use one or more of the following methods to gather data to assess progress towards these aims:

Document Review:

Below are suggested documents to identify the degree to which your school's education program reflects priority health and social needs:
  • Needs assessment findings and the alignment of needs with learning outcomes and graduate competency documents
  • Curriculum documents – planning documents, lists of learning outcomes aligned to required graduate competencies, workshops presenting curriculum, and publications
  • Curriculum database (and the alignment of learning outcomes and relative weighting with priority needs)
  • Assessment blueprint documents (to check assessment weighting against subject topics, making sure all have equal assessment, and the alignment of learning outcomes with graduate competencies and/or priority needs)
Additional questions and tools are available here.

How do our learners learn?

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonOur aims (aspirations)

Our training and teaching methods are based on the best available knowledge and are relevant and appropriate to the needs and context of learners.

Teaching methods are student centered, service-based, case- or problem-based and the learners learn in context.

Our learners learn through a curriculum developed in partnership with key stakeholders, and through direct engagement with the community.

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonHow do we know we are achieving our aims? (indicators)

The following indicators will assess our progress towards these aims:
  • The curriculum methodology provides learners with:
    • learning experiences with adequate exposure to priority health needs, social determinants of heath and cultural issues impacting the community
    • opportunities for inter-professional learning and team work
    • contextually appropriate simulation prior to community placement and engagement
  • Learner satisfaction with curricula and teaching methodology is reviewed on a regular basis
  • Level of learner satisfaction with curricula and teaching methodology is consistent across learning sites and is of high standing
  • Assessment is designed to assess the acquisition of the knowledge, skills and competencies required to meet needs
  • Teaching methodologies are aligned with expected socially accountable values to be shown in practice
  • Teaching methodologies are relevant and appropriate to learner’s needs and context
  • Length of time learners spend in supported, educationally sound placements that are aligned with learning outcomes, graduate competencies and priority needs of the community

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonWhat data can be gathered? (suggested sources of evidence)

Use one or more of the following methods to gather data to assess progress towards these aims:

Document Review

Below are suggested documents to identify the degree to which your school's teaching methodology reflects learner needs and curricula aligns with graduate competencies:
  • Learner handbooks
  • Faculty handbooks and/or training material
  • Curriculum database in which learning methods align with acquiring competencies to meet priority health needs
  • Accreditation documents in which methodology of curriculum is discussed
  • Learner community placement reports (including access to and opportunities for learner interprofessional learning)
  • Learner assessments including community and health sector feedback/evaluation on learner performance during clinical placements
Focus Groups/Interviews

Below are types of questions your school can ask in focus group discussions or in interviews with leadership, educators, learners and key stakeholders including communities and service providers:
  • How well do teaching methods prepare learners from the school to work in and with communities?
  • What aspects of the curriculum address perceived local community needs? (Educators and learners)
  • Does the curriculum reflect the health challenges of the community? (Educators and learners)
  • By the end of the final year, do you think you will have appropriate knowledge and skills to be able to care confidently for common health conditions in the region you serve? (Learners)
Additional questions and tools are available here.

Where do our learners learn?

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonOur aims (aspirations)

Our learners learn both on campus and in community-based off-campus teaching sites.

Our education program provides learners with exposure to the broad spectrum of health including learning at sites where they will be exposed to the priority health, workforce and social needs of the communities we serve, as defined by communities.

Community placement sites are chosen to provide rich exposure to priority health needs whilst learning in the context in which graduates are expected to practice.

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonHow do we know we are achieving our aims? (indicators)

The following indicators will assess our progress towards these aims:
  •  The number of opportunities for learners to learn through placement opportunities in the community:
    • total numbers of ‘learner weeks’ spent in community placements and in primary care settings
    • total number of ‘learner weeks’ spent practicing in tertiary teaching hospitals
  • The number of ‘learner weeks/hours’ of placement in community/primary care settings
  • The number of 'learner weeks' of placement in underserved communities
  • The number of 'learner weeks' of placement sites closely mirrors the distribution of the population
  • The geographical location of placement sites closely mirrors the distribution of the school reference population
  • Stakeholders involved in the creation and evaluation of community placements
  • There are continuous and sequential community and clinical experiences throughout the curriculum, with the length of time learners spend in placements congruent with learning needs
  • Placement occurs in the community where there are priority health, workforce and social needs:
    • needs have been defined through a needs assessment
  • Process of selection for teaching sites is clearly defined:
    • placements provide adequate learner exposure to priority health needs while learning in context
    • teachers/mentors are qualified and the learning outcomes are congruent with graduate competencies and community priority needs
    • safety of learners in the community is a priority and addressed
  • Clear guidelines are provided for learners as to their selection of placement location
  • There is a clear demonstration of partnerships with community in terms of off-campus teaching site selection
  • Assessment results are equivalent across teaching sites

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonWhat data can be gathered? (suggested sources of evidence)

Use one or more of the following methods to gather data to assess progress towards these aims:

Document Review

Below are suggested documents your school can use to identify the community and clinical experiences reflecting learner and health service needs:
  • Community profiles of placement sites showing demographic and health indicators
  • Learner placement policies and databases
  • Learner community placement reports
  • Community evaluation of community placements
Focus Groups/Interviews

Below are suggested types of questions you can ask in focus group discussions or in interviews with leadership, educators, learners and key stakeholders:
  • What do the learners do while on placement? (Community)
  • How do the learners work with you while on placement? (Educators in community/health sectors)
  • How do you provide health services or community development projects on placements? (Learners)
  • How do you work with the community/health service while on placement? (Learners)
Additional questions and tools are available here.

What contributions do we make to the delivery of health care?

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonOur aims (aspirations)

Educators and learners are involved in service delivery related to improving the health of the communities and regions we serve.

This service learning reflects the future working environments of graduates.

Educators and learners are involved in community development and capacity-building.

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonHow do we know we are achieving our aims? (indicators)

The following indicators will assess our progress towards these aims:
  • Learners provide services as part of their training that benefit local communities:
    • learners contribute to access or utilization of care
    • learners contribute to community development projects
  • The proportion of time of educators and learners are directly involved in service delivery
  • The number and proportion of joint appointments between education and health care organizations
  • The number of school activities that have been changed in response to community feedback on needs
  • Service learning is valued by leadership, educators, learners and key stakeholders
  • The number of learner projects undertaken in partnership with the community

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonWhat data can be gathered? (suggested sources of evidence)

Use one or more of the following methods to gather data to assess progress towards these aims:

Document Review

Below are the types of documents used to determine the degree to which your school contributes to the delivery of health care:
  • Human resource policy on service learning required by educators
  • List of adjunct educators and the type of services they provide including voluntary work
  • List of employed educators and the type of services they provide including voluntary work
  • Relevant human resource documents such as joint appointments
  • Records of learner service activity and projects including:
    • learner training and placement records
    • learner placement diaries (assessments)
    • outcomes of learner projects in communities
  • Changed policies or guidelines on service learning in response to community feedback
  • Documents including publications describing change in access, utilization or health status of communities served
Focus Groups/Interviews

Below are types of questions your can ask in focus group discussions or in interviews with leadership, educators, learners and key stakeholders:
  • How do you work with health care professionals when on placement? (Learners)
  • What contribution do you think you and other students have on the local health workforce? (Learners)
  • Are there other contributions that you make to the community? Can you give an example? (Learners)
  • How do you give feedback on services provided by learners and teachers? (Community stakeholders)
    • How has the school responded to this feedback? Can you provide examples?
  • Tell me about what  has changed in this community/facility as a result of having learners from (name of school) in your community/practice/health sector facility?
Additional questions and tools are available here.

Does our research program relate to the mission and values of social accountability?

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonOur aims (aspirations)

The research agenda reflects the priority health and health system needs of the communities and regions we serve.

The research agenda is developed and undertaken in partnership with key stakeholders.

The research agenda has a focus on participatory and action-focused methodologies.

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonHow do we know we are achieving our aims? (indicators)

The following indicators will assess our progress towards these aims:
  • The proportion of school research projects that are community based
  • The proportion of research projects that involve community members and other key stakeholders
  • The proportion of research projects that focus on solving priority health and health service issues
  • Demonstration that research projects focused on solving priority health and health service issues are:
    • culturally appropriate
    • affordable and sustainable, and
    • the proposed solutions are achievable
  • The number and proportion of projects employing participatory research methodologies
  • A research priority agenda that reflects social accountability values and aligns with regional priorities
  • An increasing proportion of research output (publications and grants) aligned with the priority health needs of the communities we serve
  • Demonstrated translational impact of research on health services, health outcomes, policy or practice
  • The proportion of research higher degree and honors learners undertaking projects addressing priority health needs
  • Records of community requests for partnerships and projects and actual research projects and partnerships
  • Memoranda of Understanding between the school and partners involved in research

ui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonui accordion buttonWhat data can be gathered? (suggested sources of evidence)

Use one or more of the following methods to gather data to assess progress towards these aims:

Document Review

Below are the types of documents your school can use to assess whether the research program and agenda address priority needs:
  • Research strategy document (including how this links with findings from the needs assessment)
  • Research database or list of projects (and/or ethics applications)
  • Audit of school research grants and publications
  • Audit of higher degree research and honors learners and their projects
  • Audit of community requests for partnerships and projects
  • Research or school reports or accreditation documents that outline translational impact of research on policy or practice
  Focus Groups/Interviews

Below are types of questions you can ask in focus group discussions or in interviews with leadership, educators, learners and key stakeholders:
  • If you had an idea for a research project in the community, how could you work with the school to develop this project? (For community/health sector)
  • How have you worked with the school on research or evaluation projects? (For community/health sector)
If there is no school documentation on this key component, consider the following questions:
  • How is the research agenda developed at this school? Do you think it builds knowledge to help meet priority health and health system needs? Please give an example.
  • How does the school involve local community members in the design or implementation of research?
  • Has there been any change in policy or practice due to the impact of research from the school?
Additional questions and tools are available here.

Recent Resources

Download The Framework

DOWNLOAD PDF (119KB)

THEnet is a trusted provider of technical assistance in designing socially accountable and community engaged health workforce education programs, evaluating education initiatives and their impact, and offering policy guidance to governments, schools and international partners.

For example, as an international expert in the evaluation of health workforce education, we were chosen by the US Government to conduct an external midterm evaluation of its $130 million-dollar Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) in Africa. Upon completion of the evaluation, the U.S. Government contracted us to conduct the midterm evaluation of its $30 million-dollar Global Nurse Capacity Building Program (GNCBP) that includes nursing and midwifery education.

THEnet offers technical assistance and consultancy services in the following areas:

  • Guiding health workforce education institutions using the Framework for Socially Accountable Health Workforce Education.
  • Supporting governments in carrying out the Framework for Socially Accountable Health Workforce Education on a national level.
  • Conducting baseline and needs assessments for health-system strengthening related to human resources for health.
  • Assessing the outcomes and impact of health workforce education institutions and programs and facilitating strategic and operational planning.
  • Advancing the implementation of social accountability strategies and accountability mechanisms at the institutional and national levels, including strategies and tools for:
  • Community engagement
  • Needs assessments
  • Curriculum revision
  • Faculty and student recruitment
  • Quality assurance at clinical training sites
  • Graduate tracking
  • Outcome and impact evaluation
  • Inter-professional collaboration
  • Policy, Regulation and Accreditation
  • Leadership development for social accountability

Please contact info@thenetcommunity.org if you are interested in accessing THEnet’s services and expertise.