More Than Skills: A Practical Workshop on how to Strengthen Provider Confidence and Enabling Environments for Behavior Change

Improving provider behavior is essential for delivering high quality immunization services. To-date, experience of care has been approached almost entirely from the client perspective. However, focusing on the health provider experience of care is critical for achieving high-quality immunization services. Providers' ability to communicate effectively, build trust, and deliver patient-centered care is directly influenced by the environment in which they work. Supportive management, responsive training systems, and safe workplaces are key drivers of provider motivation, confidence and performance.. When providers feel valued, equipped, and supported, they provide better patient care, ultimately increasing vaccine acceptance and better health outcomes for the entire community. 

During this practical, hands-on session, we will examine how strengthening providers' experience of care can catalyze positive behavior change. Using participatory tools, role plays and vignettes of real like workplace experiences, participants will explore how different interventions focused on supporting the provider can improve the experience of care for both providers and their clients. Participants will use their knowledge and experiences to identify provider challenges, collectively problem solve for identified challenges, and design a monitoring and learning plan to understand if and how their interventions are working. Participants will also engage in collaborative problem solving to critique and adapt existing tools. By the end of the session, participants will better understand how provider experience of care serves as the foundation for sustainable behavior change, and how they can apply the skills they learn in their own programs.