Continuing Education Needs and Provision for Health Workers in Rural Areas of Kogi State

This study examines the continuing education needs of rural health workers in Kogi State, North Central Nigeria, and assesses the adequacy of existing provision for meeting those needs. Rural health workers including community health extension workers, midwives, and primary healthcare nurses are critical to Nigeria's primary healthcare system, yet their continuing education needs are frequently unmet due to limited training opportunities, geographic isolation, and resource constraints. Kogi State presents an important case given its size, geographic diversity, and documented primary healthcare challenges. This study uses a mixed-method needs assessment design, combining surveys of 200 rural health workers in Lokoja, Idah, and Kabba local government areas with focus group discussions and document analysis of Kogi State Ministry of Health training records. Continuing education needs are assessed across clinical knowledge updating, management skills, community health education, and digital health literacy dimensions. Findings reveal significant self-reported knowledge gaps in evidence-based clinical practice, disease outbreak management, and digital health records, which are not addressed by current in-service training programmes. Training attendance is irregular due to transportation costs and facility staffing constraints. Distance learning options are unavailable despite widespread mobile phone access. The study concludes that continuing education provision for rural Kogi State health workers is inadequate in both content relevance and delivery modality. It recommends a mobile learning continuing education programme hosted by the Kogi State Ministry of Health in partnership with universities offering health-related degrees.

Keywords: continuing education, rural health workers, Kogi State, professional development, healthcare training.