The Role of Technology in the Teaching of Pharmacology in Africa and the Developing World

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The Role of Technology in the Teaching of
Pharmacology in Africa and the Developing World
Please note that some graphics and slides were
excluded in this reduced version

• Christiaan B Brink1 Douglas W Oliver21Division
  of Pharmacology, 2School of Pharmacy,Potchefstroo
  m Campus, North-West University, Potchefstroom,
  2520, South Africa
• for presentation at theSatellite Meeting -
  Pharmacological Teaching Facing New
  Challenge15th World Congress of Pharmacology
  (IUPHAR 2006)

E-mail fklcbb_at_puk.ac.za
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Table of Contents

• The Needs of Africa
• Education Infrastructure
• Health Care
• NEPAD, WHO, ICSU and other initiatives
• Examples Trends
• Legislation guidelines
• Trends
• Survey
• Recommendations
• Suggestions
• Pharmacology for African Initiative
• Critical Factors

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Needs of Africa Infrastructure

• BBC News 2006 public comments(15 Mar 2006,
  accessed 29 Mar 2006 - http//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
  africa/4787422.stm)
• Poor infrastructure new cables planned (East
  African Submarine Cable System (Eassy))
• Monopolies - high cost low access
• Sometimes low need (PC illiterate)
• SAIDE Newsletter 2006 (2006, vol 12(2), accessed
  11 Apr 2006 - http//www.saide.org.za/resources/ne
  wsletters/vol_12_no.2_2006/Content/SSA20Teacher2
  0Connectivity.htm)
• Barriers for access
• limited infrastructure
• lack of competent manpower
• high cost of hardware, software and connectivity
• lack of awareness of appropriate use of
  technology
• apathy towards use of technology in education
• Mobile connections 2x land lines
• Recommendations
• PC clusters PC labs
• CD ROMs
• SMS mobile phone alerts

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Examples Trends

• UNISA
• TV broadcasting via satellite
• Cell phone SMS
• Future podcasting
• North-West University
• Web-based pharmacology programme
• Trainerspod (www.trainerspod.com)
• Target developing world
• Videocasting, podcasting, blogging Webcasting
• Pedagogic technological support
• Based in Canada, USA UK

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Unexpected Leaps

• The mobile phone market in Africa can be
  amusing if one takes a good look. One might have
  an initial thinking that Africans would have
  little or no use for cutting-edge technology.
  This is however not the case ... Nigeria,
  where number of subscribers double every year and
  currently stands at about 10 million (March
  2005).(Mobile Africa, Wednesday, 17 May 2006,
  http//www.mobileafrica.net/technologies.php)

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Africa utilize PDAs

• In areas with struggling infrastructures, no
  landline telephones, and sometimes not even
  electricity, healthcare workers have had no
  access to up-to-date, relevant, and accurate
  health information handheld computers are being
  utilized to deliver life-saving information to
  the doctors, nurses, and public health officials
  who need it most. (PDA Cortex, Watertown, MA -
  August 2005, http//www.rnpalm.com/pdas_rural_afri
  ca_asia.htm)

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Needs of Africa Health

• Funds alone will be insufficient ... incentives
  such as accelerated training, support, and
  supervision, are crucial The main duty of the
  international community is to create the
  conditions that will allow Africa to develop and
  flourish. BMJ 20053317558

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NEPAD, WHO ICSU

• New Partnership for Africa's Development
• integrated socio-economic development framework
• health as 1 of 5 priority areas
• promote technology to establish regional
  distance learning and health education programmes
  to improve the situation in the health sector
• World Health Organization
• collaboration of countries
• efforts for Millennium Development Goals
• International Council for Science
• ICSU Regional Office for Africa

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Survey Scope Aims

• Scope A small pilot survey
  (exploratory only)
• Aims
• Investigate the utilization of technology in the
  teaching of pharmacology in
• South Africa
• the rest of Africa
• other developing countries
• Determine needs, as expressed

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Survey Method

• Build database
• Pharmacol. Learning Instit.

• Questionnaires 1 2
• Design questionnaires as a Web forms
• E-mail participants with request link
• Retrieve process feedback
• Fax non-responders

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Survey Response Rates

• Questionnaire 1
• South Africa (12 86)
• Rest of Africa (2 13)
• Other Developing Countries (6 67)

• Questionnaire 2
• South Africa (4 29)
• Rest of Africa (1 7)
• Other Developing Countries (1 11)

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Questionnaire 1 Utilized Technology
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Comments from Respondents

• Obstacles
• High cost to implement e-learning
• Lack of resources student access (x2)

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Questionnaire 1 Findings

• South Africa Other Developing Countries
• General use of all technologies
• Most still express a need for assistance
• Rest of Africa
• Two respondents use MSPowerPoint only (i.e. no
  CAL, Web, internet or other technology)
• Low response rate suggests a general trend

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Questionnaire 2 Useful Technology
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Questionnaire 2 Obstacles for Implementation
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Questionnaire 2 Findings

• Useful technology
• Internet applications regarded most important
• Wireless connection regarded important
• Obstacles
• Facilities/infrastructure availability of
  resources regarded most important

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Suggestions

• For targeting Africa future educational software
  (for learning in pharmacology) should also
  include 3G-satellite hybrid wireless technology
• Currently communication in Africafor
  education-related notices may be more
  successful using cell/mobile phone SMS

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Pharmacology for Africa Initiative

• Brainstorm Meetings 2006
• Strategic planning
• Key role players
• Organizing Meetings 2007-8
• Establish interim forum link with IUPHAR
• Improve forum organization communication
• Assist with local organization
• 1st African Regional Meeting 2009
• Inauguration
• Establish educational research needs
• Presentations networking
• 2nd African Regional Meeting 2012

Stimulating environment
Infrastructure
Funding
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Critical Factors to be Addressed in Africa
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A very real challenge!
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