2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

336431
One Year After the Launch of the Online Library for Nurses and Midwives in sub-Saharan Africa: Achievements and Steps Towards Sustainability


Wednesday, November 4, 2015 : 11:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

Kristen Hosey, DNP, RN, APHN-BC, Psychosocial and Community Health Department, School of Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Joachim Voss, PhD, RN, ACRN, School of Nursing, Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, University of Washington
Alphonce Kalula, RN MN, East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA -HC), Tanzania
Maureen Kelley, CNM, PhD, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Background: Completion of continuing education hours has become a requirement for nursing and midwifery re-licensure in countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including 8 countries in the last 4 years.  On Monday, September 1st, 2014 the East, Central and Southern Africa College of Nursing (ECSACON) launched a website during the opening ceremony of the 11th Scientific Conference in Harare, Zimbabwe.  This ECSACON website hosts a continuing and professional development (CPD) library that provides free, online, peer-reviewed learning modules and certificates of completion for nurses and midwives.  These ECSACON certificates are recognized and approved for re-licensure contact hours by nursing registrars in various countries in the ECSA region.

Methods: To monitor and evaluate the progress of the CPD library, a mixed methods approach was used in the form of surveys, Google analytics, and focus group discussions, to describe usage patterns and user satisfaction with the website and CPD library. 

Results: This presentation will discuss the efforts taken place over the last year since the CPD library launch, the challenges and lessons learned working in an international, political and professional regulatory context, and the implications for the future of this online resource.

Conclusions: The ECSACON CPD library development and quality improvement efforts have been supported by the African Health Regulatory Collaborative for Nurses and Midwives (ARC) and the Afya Bora Consortium in Global Health Leadership, but additional methods for sustainability are necessary to make this resource a lasting effort for the region.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Communication and informatics
Ethics, professional and legal requirements
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Program planning
Public health or related nursing

Learning Objectives:
Describe the process of getting country registrar and international support for the CPD library Discuss the lessons learned from developing an internationally recognized CPD library Discuss steps towards creating a sustainable CPD library

Keyword(s): Accessibility, Nursing Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the principle investigator for this project for the last two years, which focuses on the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and sustainability plan for the continuing and professional development library for ECSACON. I am also a technical consultant to the CDC and Emory University, and Clinical Assistant Professor at the UW, Seattle.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 5131.0: Public Health Nursing & Global Health Contributed Papers