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Management and Facilitation of an After Action Review (AAR)

Offered by OpenWHO

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An After Action Review (AAR) is a qualitative review of actions taken in response to an event of public health concern. It is a means of identifying and documenting best practices and challenges demonstrated by the response to the event.

An AAR seeks to identify:

  • Corrective actions that need to be implemented immediately, to ensure better preparation for and response to the next event;
  • Medium- and long-term actions needed to strengthen and institutionalize the necessary capabilities of the public health system.

It relies primarily on personal experiences and perceptions of any individuals or entities involved in the response. The process involves a structured facilitated discussion or experience sharing to critically and systematically review what was in place before the response, what happened during the response, what went well, what went less well, why events occurred as they did, and how to improve.

Self-paced
Language: English
English
Health topic
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Course information

This course is also available in: Українська

Overview: This course provides a general introduction to the management and the facilitation of an After Action Review (AAR) following the response to an event of public health concern through interactive presentations and an assessment at the end of the course to test the knowledge acquired. It targets any individuals or entities involved in the preparedness of and response to health emergencies, including IHR NFPs, WHO staff, health professionals and partners.

Learning objectives: By the end of this course, participants should be able to:

  • Explain the context and the purpose of an AAR;
  • Describe the general flow of the AAR process (by using the working group format);
  • Distinguish roles and responsibilities of facilitators in the AAR process and describe the techniques for participatory facilitation; and
  • Indicate the resources available for conducting an AAR and know where to find them.

Course duration: Approximately 1 hour.

Certificates: A record of achievement will be provided to course participants who score at least 80% and above on the final course assessment. Participants who receive a Record of Achievement can also download an Open Badge for this course. Click here to learn how.

Click here to watch an introductory video about After Action Reviews. The video explains in 3 minutes the AAR practice as promoted by WHO, including the definition, the different methodologies and available resources.

For further information about After Action Reviews, click here to access the WHO website on AAR.

Course contents

  • Course Overview:

    This module provides a general overview of what is an After Action Review(AAR) and in which context it can be conducted.

  • Module 1: AAR: context, purpose and description:

    This module explains the purpose of an AAR and also describes 4 types of approaches or methodologies proposed by WHO for conducting an AAR and their specific advantages and eventual limitations.

  • Module 2: Key steps for conducting an AAR using the working group format:

    All AAR methodologies follow the same 5 steps. These steps are described in this module using the working group AAR to illustrate how these steps build on each other to maximize the analytical process and learning.

  • Module 3: AAR facilitation guidance:

    Facilitating an AAR relies on some specific facilitation skills and techniques to ensure full involvement of and sharing of experiences amongst participants. Tips for a successful facilitation are shared in this module including on how to brief participants about the behavior expected from them during the review and on how to capture systematically information.

  • Module 4: Available resources:

    WHO has different resources available to support the planning and conduct of an AAR. This module introduces those resources and where to find them.

  • Final Assessment:

    The final assessment tests the knowledge you have gained during the course.

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Learners enrolled: 21203

Certificate Requirements

  • Gain a Record of Achievement by earning at least 80% of the maximum number of points from all graded assignments.
  • Gain an Open Badge by completing the course.