ZAMBIA
Activity
Partnership
Supported by THET, between the University of Zambia, Medical Faculty; University Hospital Nurse Training School and the Medical School Library for the Brighton and Sussex Medical and Nursing Schools.
2012 November - Workshop on “Building strong resource managers” A five day workshop took place in Lusaka with the main aim of strengthening resource management within the five Schools of Nursing involved in the Zambia UK Health Worforce Alliance / Tropical Health and Education Trust project for enhanced training for five Nurse Tutors.
The themes for each day were:
Scene setting: outcomes from the pre-course survey; barriers to
improving service, gaps etc.;
Collaborative working for service development: core resources (staffing, space), resource sharing;
Skills development: skills needed, support needed from Nurse Tutors, budgets and business plans;
Making development plans for each library represented;
Sustainability and the role of professional associations.
HIV/AIDS Resource Centre, Zambia
The pre-course survey was carried out by ITOCA and Phi in consultation with the Lead Nurse Tutor Charles Turner and the President of AHILA. The workshop facilitators were provided by the locally collaborating organizations: Blessing Chaitaira (ITOCA) and Charles Turner (Nurse Tutor from UK who had worked in one of the Nursing Schools) and supported by Nasra Gathoni (then President of AHILA) and Celine Mwafulilwa and Francina Makondo from the University of Zambia. The workshop arrangements were coordinated by Katie Barrett (THET) and books and other resources were provided from a special fund by TALC (Teaching Aids at Low Cost) - a truly collaborative effort. The representative from the MOH who attended was very impressed.
“I’m ... grateful to see the hard work from you all and the unprecedented appreciative response from the participants and MOH alike. From all accounts, the week has been hugely successful and stirred new waves of interest and honing of skills in health information and resource management. I’m very optimistic about the continued thirst for more training such as this and the sustained support that the professional associations (with a revitalised AHILA chapter in Zambia) will provide to quench part of this.”
Comment from Katherine Barrett (THET Programme Manager Zambia)
2012 - Library and information services have been represented on the committee to introduce a paediatric nursing course at the Lusaka School of Nursing. Originally Phi was represented by one of its executive officers, but since June 2012 this role has been taken on by Tom Roper, Primary Care Librarian at Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust.
Information
Partners
The link between the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka and the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals and Medical School was formed in 2005 and supported by the Tropical Health and Education Trust.
Highlights of past activities and achievements
2010 September: Training visit to U.K - Visit by Francina Makondo (Medical librarian at the University of Zambia and Edward Phiri (Nursing Librarian) to discuss: effective information skills programmes and current awareness services to health professionals, setting up institutional repositories, evidence based health care and systematic reviews, and the acquisition of health information resources including those in electronic formats.
2010 Publication: The development of telehealth as a strategy to improve health care services in Zambia - Kenneth L. Chanda & Jean G. Shaw. Health Information & Libraries Journal. Volume 27, Issue 2, pages 133–139, June 2010. It is available through HINARI
2009 April: Phi becomes part of the informal network of the Zambia UK Health Workforce Alliance website
2008: Preliminary visit by two Phi representatives. A one-day workshop at the University of Zambia brought together librarians, information professionals, nurses, doctors and two radio producers. The participants looked at all aspects of the human and geographical environment in Zambia which affect the transfer of information, both the positive and the negative. This formed part of a wider programme of activities intended to gain a broad view of the health information scene in Zambia. Phi representatives met with staff from the University and its Medical Library, as well as a range of people from Zambia’s library and information community.
