Translating Knowledge into Practice for Uganda's Rural Health Clinics
In January 2010, Elsevier's Library Connect covered Makerere University's unique project.
At Makerere University in Uganda, finding ways to share knowledge and information throughout a country with limited internet access is nothing less than an institutional priority. Maria Musoke, the University Librarian at Makerere and Sir Albert Cook Medical Library, Uganda's major Health Sciences library, travels regularly with a team of doctors, nurses and midwives to train rural health workers, inform community members, and influence health outcomes. Working through a three year, $100,000 Elsevier Foundation grant, Maria has also taken on an existing triennial medical digest, expanding it to solve community based health problems while librarians develop or repackage the necessary information to support the field visits. The digest features information culled specifically to address major health concerns, such as malaria and other common causes of illnesses in the areas served.
"If the information is new and has been repackaged, the patients benefit because they get current treatment, and if it's current treatment it means better results," says Dr. Kijjambu Amos, Mpigi Health Centre. In many cases, access to the Internet is a problem so repackaging includes expanded issues of the triannual medical digest produced by Makerere University's Sir Albert Cook Medical Library.
Maria Musoke notes: "Our project combines information services with field activity, offering a clear model of how librarians in developing countries can reach out to rural health workers with great impact on health outcomes. One of our goals is also to show how global knowledge can be repackaged to suit local conditions and meet the information needs of Ugandan health workers. And I think we're making some progress."
