A model of ODL to Address Educational Needs of Health Workers in Africa

Abstract

PCF4 // Achieving development goals in health is confounded by shortage of health care staff in poorer countries due to migration to richer countries, and to HIV. Zambia for example has a 48% shortfall of nurses; 2000 Zambian nurses work in the UK alone. Retention is problematic – salaries are low, conditions poor, and professional updating is lacking. Health workers attending overseas universities may be less likely to return home. One response is to improve course provision and professional updating opportunities in-country. Leeds Metropolitan University, with funding from the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission under their distance learning initiative, runs a tailor-made MSc Public Health (Environmental Health and Health Promotion) in Zambia, for nurse tutors, clinical officers and environmental health workers. Using locally relevant curricula, with community-based, student centred, problem-solving approaches, retention may be improved. Greater cost-effectiveness and wider participation are achieved. The paper will discuss how the course is delivered in Zambia, how the partnership developed such as to enable effective delivery of the course, and how sustainable learning can be achieved in a developing country in partnership with a UK University. // Paper ID 114