One of the HIV/AIDS Twinning Center’s central goals is to help twinning partners develop local solutions to ensure that health professionals, policymakers, and others involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to improve the quality of care and services they provide. HIV/AIDS Learning Resource Centers (LRCs) provide an extremely flexible model for different types of partner organizations to develop this capacity.
LRCs provide twinning partners with both the equipment and the knowledge they need to access and use the wealth of information that a computer with Internet connectivity can provide in even remote and resource-poor settings. But the HIV/AIDS LRC project does much more than simply provide computers. All LRCs serve at least two primary functions:
First, the LRCs improve access to evidence-based knowledge resources: Whether they provide healthcare professionals with direct access to medical journals and textbooks through the Internet or on CD-ROM or they produce educational newsletters or pamphlets for members of their communities, LRCs strive to put critical information into the hands of those who need it.
Second, the LRCs provide users of this information with the skills and tools necessary to apply it effectively in practice: LRCs train partners and others engaged in the fight against HIV/AIDS on critical appraisal and evidence-based practice. By helping these individuals to assess existing practices and policies, LRCs ensure that information is not only more accessible, but that it also has a real-world impact.
In addition to these two primary functions, many LRCs fulfill other roles depending on the needs and capabilities of their host organization. For example, some LRCs engage in telemedicine applications to support patient consultations. Others support the development of Web sites, internal information systems, and distance learning initiatives.
The Twinning Center is supporting the development of HIV/AIDS Learning Resource Centers at various partner institutions through a comprehensive approach that addresses each of three core elements:
Connectivity: Twinning Center staff work with partner organizations to identify a sustainable and reliable Internet connection, supporting investments in telecommunications infrastructure where necessary.
Content: The Twinning Center provides a core package of HIV/AIDS information resources on CD-ROM, in print, and online. These resources may be supplemented by additional specialized materialized determined by the twinning partnership organizations. At the same time, Twinning Center staff help to facilitate partner access to HIV/AIDS and other health-related information through the World Health Organization’s Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative and other existing online and CD-ROM-based health information access programs.
Capacity-building: The Twinning Center supports the training and development of staff at the LRCs in a number of different areas, depending on the needs of partner organizations. Areas of training include:
- Basic skills in information and communications technology
- Health information retrieval
- Evidence-based medicine
- Marketing and presentation skills
- Information/library management
- Web design and graphics
- Sustainability and grantwriting
- Network and information systems planning
- Distance learning
- Database design
- Training-of-trainers, so that all these skills can be passed on to others
The first HIV/AIDS LRCs were opened in 2006 and 2007:
Uganda
African Palliative Care Association
Palliative Care Information Centre
Coordinator: Tony Powell
tony.powell@apca.co.ug
Zambia
Maina Soko Military Hospital
LRC Coordinator: Tommy Sajisa
tsajisa@zamnet.zm
Defense Force School of Health Sciences
LRC Coordinator: Joseph Kapembwa apembwajoseph@yahoo.com
Read more about the implementation of the LRC Project at Twinning Center partner sites:
LRC Exchange Fosters Collaboration Between Russia and Zambia (Field Notes, Fall 2007)
Partnership LRC Contributes to Maina Soko Hospital’s Selection as SmartCare Pilot Site (Field Notes, Summer 2007)
Zambian Defense Force to Open Second LRC at Defense School of Health
Studies in Lusaka (Field Notes, Winter 2007)
LRC Improves Access to Evidence-based Research, Communication Technologies for Zambian Defense Force Medical Services (Field Notes, Winter 2007)
The HIV/AIDS LRC project is an extension of the American International Health Alliance’s successful
LRC project in Eurasia. The LRC project was a 2004 finalist for the Stockholm Challenge Award, which recognizes initiatives that use information and communication technologies for the social and economic benefit of citizens and communities.
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