• Capacity

Capacity building and health worker training

This study, produced by the EQUINET’s medical student research support programme, aims to describe the current status of continued professional development (CPD) of healthcare personnel in health centres in Blantyre, Malawi, run by the Ministry of Health and Population. Participants in the study include nurses, clinical officers, medical assistants, laboratory technicians and a dental therapist. Findings reveal that nearly 95 per cent of workshop participants and 86 per cent of seminar participants had clinical hand-over meetings in the previous 12 months. However, while most participants wanted to receive professional journals, only 3.5 per cent of respondents had access to them. Other findings include: only 5 percent had access to a working phone at work and access to internet facilities at all; and only 21 per cent were satisfied with their own knowledge of health matters.

The authors conclude that health care professionals are using clinical hand-over meetings, seminars and workshops as their primary means of CPD. The authors argue that there is a need to improve access to relevant professional journals. They recommend that regulatory or licensing boards for healthcare professionals in Malawi seriously consider mandatory CPD credits for re-certification. [adapted from author]

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