Leveraging open-source technology and adapting open eLearning content to improve the knowledge and motivation of Ghana’s rural nurses

Lisa Mwaikambo ,Akuba Dolphyne

doi:10.34105/j.kmel.2016.08.005

Abstract

Access to training opportunities is strongly correlated with health workers’ motivation because it enables health workers to take on more challenging duties. Mobile technology can be leveraged for professional development support by providing access to open education resources. Community Health Nurses (CHNs) in Ghana are the frontline health workers of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and play a vital role in extending maternal and child health care to rural communities. However, as the lowest credentialed nurses, they are at the bottom of the GHS hierarchy. CHNs have limited opportunities for career advancement and report challenges with isolation and lack of resources. Leveraging open-source technology platforms and open eLearning content, the Care Community Hub (CCH) project sought to address these barriers in CHN motivation by developing and deploying a mobile application (app), CHN on the Go, to CHNs in five rural districts. The app supports CHNs through tools for continuous learning, diagnostic decision-making, and improved nurse-supervisor interactions. This paper focuses on the adaptation and use of the open eLearning content to address CHNs’ motivation challenges and, ultimately, improve their knowledge and job performance as a result of having access to open education resources.

Highlights

Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for half of maternal deaths worldwide (World Health Organization, 2014)
14 adapted Global Health eLearning Center (GHeL) family planning (FP) and MNCH courses have been deployed on mobile devices to 220 Community Health Nurses (CHNs) and 55 district supervisors in five districts of Ghana: Ada East, Ada West and Ningo Prampram in the Greater Accra Region and South Tongu, and South Dayi in the Volta Region
The collaboration between K4Health, Grameen, and Ghana Health Service (GHS) resulted in a repository of high quality open learning materials on key FP and MNCH topics, adapted for CHNs in five rural districts in Ghana

Summary

The health workforce situation in Ghana

Despite its recently achieved status as a middle-income country and a more robust health care system than many of its neighbors, Ghana is still experiencing a national shortage of skilled health workers. To address workforce shortages in rural areas, Ghana has used community health nurses (CHNs) who are trained to provide ambulatory care for malaria, childhood immunizations, family planning, and community health education. CHNs are the frontline health workers of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and are often the primary providers of MNCH care in rural communities. According to World Health Organization (2006), access to training opportunities is strongly correlated with motivation because it enables health workers to take on more challenging duties. It helps curtail health worker attrition when it is focused on local needs. The increasing availability of online open education resources provides this access to training

Using technology to motivate CHNs to remain in rural health posts

Findings

Lessons learned

Conclusion