This initiative is supported by the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) in the Netherlands.
First Training of Trainers Workshop on Evidence Based Healthcare in Harare Great Success
The first Training of Trainers Workshop in Evidence Based Healthcare in July, Harare, Zimbabwe was very successful. All participants representing four countries from Sub-Saharan Africa, stated that their expectations were fully fulfilled. They expressed their wish to keep in touch with each other. All will work further on finalizing the lesson plans and materials to be able to, independently, run courses on Evidence Based Health Care in their own countries for different target groups.
Greater demand
The need and the wish to implement the best available health care in Africa is great. Resources to do so are still limited. Through the Collaboration for Evidence Based Healthcare in Africa (CEBHA) numerous students have been introduced to the concept of Evidence Based Health Care. Teachers of these courses had been students during the first courses, thereby contributing to both local ownership and sustainability of these efforts. In order to meet the increasing demand for Evidence Based Health Care more courses and more teachers are needed.
Four intensive days
As a step towards meeting this need, the Africa Research Initiative and Support – Network(ARISE) consortium invited CEBHA to deliver a Training of Trainers workshop in Evidence Based Health Care. During four intensive days the nine participants— lecturers from universities from Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi and Zimbabwe— discussed target groups and its learning objectives. Together they developed lesson plans, practiced teaching skills, as well as conducted and facilitated micro teaching sessions in Evidence Based Health Care.
Newly energized
All participants left the workshop newly energized, recognizing the importance of creating a network to further contribute to the uptake of Evidence Based Health Care in their respective countries.
Accessible to many more
What is the way forward? An important first step is tofinalize lesson plans and teaching material specific to the African context for undergraduates, post-graduates, general practitioners and policy makers. Also, as a second step it is necessary to strive for the incorporation of EBHC teaching in academic and non-academic training programs and institutions, including for supporters of research, such as librarian and IT staff. Finally a third and crucial step is to expand the support base in order to make Evidence Based Health Care accessible to many more.
The workshop was facilitated by Prof Dr. Taryn Young, Director of the Centre for Evidence Based Health Care Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa; and Dr Stella van Beers and Dr Masja Straetemans from KIT Biomedical Research, Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Are you interested in Evidence Based Health Care courses in Africa, or in Trainer of Training Courses, or would you like to have more information, please contact Stella van Beers, s.v.beers@kit.nl and Masja Straetemans, m.straetemans@kit.nl
What participants say:
“ Becoming a good teacher is a journey that continues”
“ Evidence Based Health Care can greatly improve healthcare in Africa”
“There is a need to train Trainers of Trainers for the African context”