Exchanging Knowledge Between Health Professionals in Tanzania

Creating a platform to share experiences with other hospitals

The use of technology to improve the delivery and management of health services is relatively new in Tanzania. Information and Communication (ICT) initiatives in the health sector are scattered throughout the country and throughout different hospitals and take place in relative isolation. This lack of unity means that there is no collective voice, bargaining power or forum where health delivery organisations can share and learn from experiences that may benefit them.

AfyaMtandao attempts to bridge this gap by providing a platform where knowledge about ICT and experiences in healthcare can be exchanged, and policy can be developed. The network will develop based on the needs articulated by its members.

Support for delivery of social services

AfyaMtandao is initiated by the Christian Social Services Commission (CSSC), an umbrella organisation of church institutions. CSSC supports the delivery of social services – notably education and health services - by these institutions in Tanzania through networking, advocacy, lobbying and capacity building. CSSC member institutions make up about 30% of Tanzania’s health sector.

AfyaMtandao’s main objectives are to:

• Set up a network - Create an organisational nucleus around which members can exchange knowledge, share experiences and innovate ICT in the field of health care delivery in Tanzania.
• Build online communities - Build and develop health professionals’ online communities around areas like telemedicine, health management information systems and e-learning.
• ICT support - Providing assistance in ICT needs assessment and ICT support for member organisations.

Workshops

The health network was officially launched in January 2008 in Mwanza, during a needs assessment workshop with doctors in charge of hospitals in the Lake Zone, the area around Lake Victoria in the north-east of Tanzania.

Participants discussed how ICT can improve the internal and external knowledge sharing of hospitals. In response to the needs expressed, the network organises knowledge sharing sessions on ICT for health. An example is a field visit to two hospitals implementing the hospital management information system (HMIS) AfyaPro, an IICD-supported project.

Seeing how a Hospital Management Information System works

During the field visit, about twenty hospital representatives had the opportunity to see how a Hospital Management Information System is used in different departments of the hospital, like the billing department, laboratory, and the office of the doctor in charge. Staff explained how the computer facilitates data collection and reporting. For example, it can provide a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly summary of all laboratory tests.

Participants had the opportunity to ask the hospital staff questions and learned about  challenges such as the need for generators in the event of a power cut, and the general lack of computers. Seeing with their own eyes and hearing experiences from users gave the participants a realistic impression of both the advantages and challenges of implementing the HMIS. Eight hospitals have already indicated that they are interested in using the tool.

Uniting telemedicine practitioners

AfyaMtandao also organised workshops on telemedicine. In cooperation with the IICD-supported telemedicine project, it united telemedicine practitioners and other stakeholders from around Tanzania to share and collect lessons and come up with policy advice.

Another awareness-raising workshop for health workers was organised to expand the project in the Tanzanian Lake Zone area. Finally, AfyaMtandao organised a knowledge sharing workshop with doctors trained in the telemedicine tool iPath, to improve the use of the tool so more patients in rural areas can get online advice.

A website, communities and videos

Apart from workshops, the health network also facilitates awareness raising and knowledge sharing on ICT for health through its website www.afyamtandao.org, newsletters and several online communities (called ‘Dgroups’). AfyaMtandao produced two videos: one about the District Health Management Information System (D-HMIS) project, the other about the telemedicine project. The two videos will be officially launched later this year.

Awareness raising sessions

AfyaMtandao’s organised awareness raising sessions with government officials and church leaders to explain AfyaMtandao as a network for health institutions and professionals to facilitate knowledge exchange and services in ICT and health. The early involvement of decision-makers creates a lot of goodwill from their side.