Feasibility of an educational program for public health nurses to promote local healthcare planning: protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial

Background: Promoting of local healthcare planning is crucial for assisting public health nurses in improving community health inequities. However, there is no effective educational program for developing relevant skills and knowledge among these nurses. Therefore, this study aims to assess the feasibility of a newly developed web-based self-learning program to promote the involvement of public health nurses in the local healthcare planning process. Methods: A pilot randomized control trial randomly allocated eligible public health nurses to intervention and control wait-list groups [1:1]. The former will be exposed to six web-based learning modules from July to October 2021. After collecting post-test data, the wait-list group will be exposed to the same modules to ensure learning equity. The primary outcome will be evaluated by implementing a validated and standardized scale designed to measure public health policy competencies at the baseline and post-intervention, while secondary outcome will be measured on an action scale to demonstrate the necessity of healthcare activities. The third outcome will be the knowledge and skills related to local healthcare planning by public health nurses. The participants will provide feedback through free descriptions on the trial feasibility and a web-based self-learning program to identify improvement points for continual refinement. Discussion: The results will provide suggestions in preparation for a future definitive randomized controlled trial. This will provide preliminary data for an intervention aimed at improving relevant competencies among public health nurses who are tasked with resolving health inequities in their respective communities through local health planning.