Journal Articles

This article in the June 2015 issue of Global Health: Science and Practice highlights the results of an assessment CapacityPlus conducted in Senegal of a prototype mLearning system that uses interactive voice response (IVR) and text messaging on basic mobile phones. IVR allows trainees to respond to audio recordings using their telephone keypads. The pilot included offering a refresher training course on the management of contraceptive side effects and misconceptions to 20 public-sector nurses and midwives in working in Mékhé and Tivaouane districts in the Thiès region. The authors concluded that the mLearning system proved appropriate, feasible, and acceptable to trainees, and it was associated with sustained knowledge gains.

PEPFAR's Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) supports medical schools in Africa to increase the capacity and quality of medical education, improve retention of graduates, and promote regionally relevant research. Many MEPI programmes include elements of community-based education (CBE) such as: community placements; clinical rotations in underserved locations, community medicine, or primary health; situational analyses; or student-led research.CapacityPlus and the MEPI Coordinating Center conducted a workshop to share good practices for CBE evaluation, identify approaches that can be used for CBE evaluation in the African context, and strengthen a network of CBE collaborators.This report describes key insights from the workshop, and highlights plans for CBE evaluation among the MEPI institutions.This workshop clearly demonstrated the widespread interest in improving CBE evaluation efforts and a need to develop, implement, and disseminate rigorous approaches and tools relevant to the African context.

This article examines the various models, challenges, and evaluative efforts of community-based education programs at Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) schools and makes recommendations to strengthen those programs in the African context. Data were gathered from 12 MEPI schools. All schools reported a number of challenges in meeting the demands of increased student enrollment. Planned strategies used to tackle these challenges include motivating faculty, deploying students across expanded centers, and adopting innovations. Although the programs have similar goals, their strategies for achieving these goals vary. To identify approaches that successfully address the challenges, particularly with increasing enrollment, medical schools need to develop structured models and tools for evaluating the processes, outcomes, and impacts of community-based education programs. Such efforts should be accompanied by training faculty and embracing technology, improving curricula, and using global/regional networking opportunities. CapacityPlus’s Rebecca Bailey and Christopher Deery contributed to this article in the journal’s MEPI supplement issue.