Do characteristics of HIV/AIDS education and training affect perceived training quality? Lessons from the evaluation of seven projects

Initial and continuing HIV/AIDS education and training has been a critical way to bring the nation's health providers up to date on emerging developme nts and approaches. This study reports cross-cutting findings from seven HI V/AIDS education and training projects. Trainers described over 600 trainin g sessions from these projects in terms of their structural characteristics and design elements, while trainees described these sessions on several di mensions related to training quality. Training characteristics were compare d to trainee assessments of training quality. Using a decision-tree analyti c approach for major training attributes, considerable support emerged for links between training characteristics and perceived quality of the HIV/AID S training experience. More favorable quality ratings were associated with certain projects, the training setting, the types of trainees served by the training, the intended training impact, discussion of special populations, and training methods involving interactive learning. With increased knowle dge regarding how these educational experiences relate to the ways they are perceived and processed, more targeted approaches to training design on HI V/AIDS can be developed.