Using ICTs and Mobile Technologies - the Twinning Center Experience in Africa

1. Using ICTs and Mobile Technologies - the Twinning Center Experience in Africa Sailas Nyareza and Kelly Wolfe HIV/AIDS Twinning Center American International Health Alliance HIV/AIDS Twinning Center www.TwinningAgainstAIDS.org

2. The HIV/AIDS Twinning Center • Launched in 2004 by the American International Health Alliance (AIHA) and HRSA to support PEPFAR programs. • AIHA was founded in 1992 by a broad coalition of healthcare delivery associations and the USG to create health sector twinning partnerships to strengthen human and organizational capacity in post cold war Europe and Eurasia. • The Twinning Center utilizes a volunteer-driven, peer-to-peer “twinning” methodology refined by AIHA over nearly two decades of practical implementation in more than 150 partnerships in 33 countries. • Currently, the Twinning Center manages programs in10 countries: Botswana * Ethiopia * Kenya Mozambique * Namibia * Nigeria Russia* South Africa * Tanzania * Zambia • Learning Resources Program: builds institutional capacity to access, utilize and evaluate evidence-based information and practice. HIV/AIDS Twinning Center www.TwinningAgainstAIDS.org HIV/AIDS Twinning Center www.TwinningAgainstAIDS.org

3. The Learning Resources Program Program Objectives • HIV/AIDS Learning Resource Centers • E-Knowledge Portal • Distance Learning • Mobile Technologies • Telemedicine and mHealth • Information Literacy Program 3

4. Learning Resources Program presence in Africa • 27 Learning Resource Centers, Knowledge Hub, mLearning & Information Literacy programs • Zambia -18 LRCs • Ethiopia - 4 LRCs & Drug Information Center • Nigeria - 2 LRCs • Namibia - 1 LRC • Botswana - 1 LRC • Tanzania – Social Work Knowledge Hub • South Africa – 1 LRC & mLearning projects

5. Learning Resources Program Objectives Program Objectives Objective 1 Objective 2 To build institutional capacity to access, evaluate, and utilize up-to-date online and offline healthcare knowledge resources. To promote evidence-based practice through the institutional review of current clinical standards and the use of point-of-care applications for clinical decision support. Objective 3 To foster professional communication and knowledge sharing platforms among healthcare workers and institutions designed to improve the quality of patient care, support peer networking, and encourage cross-institutional collaboration. 5

6. http://www.kiota.or.tz/ • Dynamic web portal hosted by COSTECH (Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology) • Information exchange, knowledge sharing and online communities for the Emerging Schools of Social Work and the profession in Tanzania • Developed by AIHA & Social Work partners in TZ

7. Distance Learning courses 3 week courses via email • Introduction to evidence-based practice • How to keep updated with professional information (social work & medical) • Developing patient education materials • How to be a successful distance learner Participants receive tutorials and assignments via email. Learner support is provided via email and Skype. Participants share ideas during the 3-week period and even continue to interact after the course. The next phase will provide these courses on Moodle Learning Management System.

8. Mobile Technologies • More than half of Africa’s one billion population have a mobile phone • Africa became the world’s second most connected region after Asia in late 2011, with 616 million mobile subscribers • The prices of smartphones and tablets are going down significantly • Mobile operators are Africa’s largest Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

9. Distance learning course for Clinical Associates using their smartphones PubMed for Handhelds pubmedhh.nlm.nih.gov go.usa.gov/xFb Accessing clinical practice guidelines

10. The whole reference section can be downloaded to a smartphone or tablet for offline access

11. University of Pretoria’s Tembisa Clinical Learning Center • South African clinical practice guidelines on HIV/AIDS available to Clinical Associates at the point-of-care using the tablets • Medical apps installed – Medscape, Skyscape, Lexicomp allowing offline access to clinical reference resources • Tablets integrated in learning programs

12. Health Information Literacy program Course to enableindividuals to "recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information." [American Library Association, 2004] Capacity building of our Clinical Associate partners in South Africa to deliver a focused information literacy program for the Clinical Associate students – University of Pretoria Technical support in incorporating a new module on use of smartphones and tablets for accessing and sharing medical information Similar program is now starting at the Polytechnic of Namibia, School of Health and Applied Sciences

13. Thank you!! SailasNyareza Kelly Wolfe HIV/AIDS Twinning Center American International Health Alliance 1250 Eye Street, NW, Suite 350 Washington, DC 20005 Tel: +1-202-789-1136 Email: snyareza@aiha.co.za Email: kwolfe@aiha.com HIV/AIDS Twinning Center www.TwinningAgainstAIDS.org