Longitudinal Evaluation of the EZ-IZ Online Training

Background:  EZ-IZ, the website and learning portal for the California Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program, launched in August 2008. Conceived as a “one-stop shop for immunization training and resources,” EZ-IZ hosts a five-lesson interactive custom-developed curriculum and over a hundred resources. The California Department of Public Health Immunization Branch created a learning management system (LMS) in 2008 to track usage and evaluation of the curriculum. The LMS has now provided over two years of longitudinal data, including during the period of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

Setting:  Public and private providers, medical centers, and LHDs

Population: 

• Primary target audience: medical assistants who work in public and private VFC provider practices
• Additional audiences: physicians, public health nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, licensed vocational nurses, mass vaccinators, and others

Project Description:  The current EZ-IZ curriculum consists of the lessons Preparing Vaccines; Administering Vaccines; Storing Vaccines; Monitoring Refrigerator Temperatures; and Monitoring Freezer Temperatures. Evaluation has been an integral component of each phase of the project. An iterative process of formative and summative evaluation has ensured the consistently high quality of the training curriculum. The selection of the curriculum to fulfill CDC’s evaluation requirement for the California Immunization program has reinforced the importance and visibility of the evaluation activities.

Results/Lessons Learned:  The EZ-IZ training fortuitously proved to be a valued online resource for the unexpected demands of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.  From September 11 to December 31, 2009, 4,336 people completed the Preparing Vaccines lesson, and 4,024 people completed Administering Vaccines, an approximately 10-fold increase from the same period in 2008 (457 and 380 people, respectively). The inclusion of the project’s qualitative and qualitative feedback mechanisms from its inception allowed the Immunization Branch to assess its impact, effectiveness, varied applications, and reach of the training during the pandemic.