Distance Education

This study aimed to assess whether the use of cell phone text messaging to improve access to continuing healthcare education in under-resourced settings is acceptable to South African midwives in both the public and private sectors. [adapted from author]

This study aimed to evaluate students’ learning outcomes from a redesigned eLearning version of the reproductive health section of a public health course, as measured by improved knowledge acquisition and opinions, and to assess e-course utilization. [adapted from abstract]

This article reports on a three week-long program of collaborative learning courses, in which 19 mental health professionals and 12 mental health service users participated. Data were analysed to consider the ways in which participants interacted, and how this contributed to the goal of online learning about using internet technologies for mental health practice. [adapted from abstract]

This report details an eLearning intervention for nurses in Kenya to improve the standards of nursing care by equipping enrolled nurses with the skills to manage new and re-emerging diseases, address the shortage of qualified nurses in Kenya, improve quality of care and achieve health-related Millennium Development Goals. [adapted from author]

This paper seeks to analyze the import of distance education for promotion of proficiency skills in the health sector and review ongoing professional development programmes for health workers in Ghana, and come out with strategies to offer training avenues leading to the professional growth of the individuals and economic growth of the country. [from abstract]

This document summarises findings of a global review whose aim was to identify patterns of success and impact, and outline likely trends in the nature and provision of distance learning for health in low and middle income countries, hence informing future policy, research and investment in distance learning for health workers. [from introduction]

The aims of this study are to show nurses’ perceptions of online continuing education and to determine perceptions of various groups; area groups, working companies, frequency of computer usage and age. [from abstract]

This paper discusses a key finding arising from a qualitative research project which explored the provision of educational support to clinical teachers who were at least 100 kilometres distant from a university medical school. [from abstract]

This article outlines the project to develop and evaluate a continuing medical education (CME) course aimed at improving healthcare provider knowledge about breast cancer health disparities and the importance of cross-cultural communication in provider-patient interactions about breast cancer screening. [from abstract]

This document summarises findings of a global review whose aim was to identify patterns of success and impact, and outline likely trends in the nature and provision of distance learning for health in low and middle income countries, hence informing future policy, research and investment. [from introduction]

This article suggests a strategy for addressing the difficulty in training enough health workers involving creating satellite sites of colleges that offer health worker training at district hospitals or other health worksites. [adapted from author]

The authors describe the development of a distance learning health education program for rural communities that developed a network of rural community learning centers to employ distance learning technologies for community-driven peer education in isolated areas of the Marshall Islands. [adapted from abstract]

This article reports on a pilot evaluation of distance education modalities was conducted among U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands healthcare workers. [from abstract]

This presentation outlines the successful School of Health Science’s Indira Gandhi National Open University program to democratise higher education; provide cost-effective, quality education to a large section of the population; provide higher education to developing countries; and become a pioneer in distance education for health managers and medical educators. [adapted from author]

This presentation outlines Management for Science’s Virtual Programs (such as health leadership development, strategic planning and human resources management), how they work and the results they have achieved. [adapted from author]

This presentation outlines FAIMER’s work to create an online network of health educators for collaboration and support to strengthen and expand leadership and management skills and education methods; and to stregthen the field of health education through distance courses. [adapted from author]

This presentation outlines a study to identify lessons learned which can guide and maximize the impact of distance education for health workers. [adapted from author]

This presentation outlines human resources for health context; post- qualification training priorities; training design for performance; and a conceptual framework for approaches to health worker training - particularly focusing on distance learning approaches and effectiveness. [adapted from author]

This study reviewed and assessed the Tanzania’s current distance learning programs for health care workers, as well as those in countries with similar human resource challenges, to determine the feasibility of distance learning to meet the need of an increased and more skilled health workforce. [adapted from abstract]

The authors designed and delivered a pilot postgraduate medical education program in the virtual world, Second Life to explore the potential of a virtual world for delivering continuing medical education (CME) designed for physicians; determine possible instructional designs using SL for CME; understand the limitations of SL for CME; understand the barriers, solutions, and costs associated with using SL, including required training; and measure participant learning outcomes and feedback. [adapted from abstract]

This article summarizes a project that tested whether mobile learning in combination with social media might provide a solution for the lack of training for health care workers scattered across the country. [adapted from author]

This article presents an innovative approach to healthcare worker (HCW) training using mobile phones as a personal learning environment. Twenty physicians used individual Smartphones in urban and peri-urban HIV/AIDS clinics in Peru, where almost 70% of the nations HIV patients in need of treatment. [adapted from abstract]

This study is a continuation of an earlier report that found online continuing medical education (CME) to be highly effective in making evidence-based decisions. [from abstract]

Information and communication technology can play a vital role in training healthcare professionals, across the board - in nursing schools, medical schools, urban settings, and even in rural areas where it is often needed the most, in remote hospitals, health centers and dispensaries that are under-staffed and where the addressable population is scattered. [from author]

The purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative evaluation of two internet-based continuing medical education delivery formats and the effect on satisfaction, knowledge and confidence outcomes. [from abstract]

This article aims to produce theory driven criteria to guide the development and evaluation of internet-based medical courses. [from abstract]

This document chronicles the evolution of e-learning among nurses in Kenya. It charts the obstacles - a shortage of qualified tutors, the scarcity of clinical placements - and the priorities to overcome them. [adapted from author]

Poor public health indicators in Tanzania have led to the upgrading of nursing and clinical personnel who currently have just core training. This article reports on a project to assist the upgrade of clinical officers working around sexually transmissible infections within the context of healthcare, education and policy developments in Tanzania. [adapted from abstract]

The Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning Wiki provides materials to enhance surgical care in urban and rural environments, using various forms of the modern but low-cost technology now available, presented in a workshop/discussion/lecture format. [adapted from introduction]

This article describes the Public Health Resource Network, an innovative distance-learning course in training, motivating, empowering and building a network of health personnel from government and civil society groups. Its aim is to build human resource capacity for strengthening decentralized health planning, especially at the district level. [from abstract]