Ethiopia
AHED has three ongoing projects in Ethiopia, two at Addis Ababa University, the other at Hawassa University. One project at Addis Ababa University is the establishment of a Family Medicine programme in partnership with the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, focusing on people and populations, rather than a disease-by-disease approach to health care. In our second project at Addis Ababa AHED is partnered with the University of Toronto to create a Masters of Science in Nursing. In our third project AHED joins with the University of Saskatchewan to develop their undergraduate programme in Nutrition. These projects are part of Ethiopia’s long-standing commitment to the education and health of its people.
International Family Medicine Advisory Committee
I. Needs assessment for Family Medicine—a new specialty in Ethiopia
In 2010 a team from the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto conducted a needs assessment that informed the content and design of the curriculum for a new post-graduate specialization in family medicine. Jane Philpott and Katherine Rouleau began the study in February. In May and June, Eileen Nicolle, Kevin Bezanson and Marc Abbyad, along with five graduate students from AAU’s program in Public Health, completed the first part of the research, a time-motion study that provided information about the current practices of general practitioners in Ethiopia. The second part of the study, a stakeholder survey of what should be included in the curriculum for the new program, is scheduled to begin in January 2012.
The feedback from the graduate students in the MPH program has been invaluable in making adjustments to the project to ensure its success.” -Eileen Nicolle
The FM specialty has been shown to provide an important contribution to the improvement of health systems. Rather than a disease-by-disease approach to health care, FM focuses on people and populations. Family physicians are well-trained specialists in general medicine who can lead primary care teams thatdeliver coordinated, comprehensive and cost-effective health care. Currently, a FM specialty does not exist in Ethiopia. Its development will help address the overwhelming health concerns of the country.
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Some of the benefits of FM training include:
- Recruitment and retention of generalists
- Physicians with improved technical, surgical and emergency skills
- Improved health systems: Better health outcomes & lower costs
- Skilled leadership of interprofessional primary care teams
“Please do not lose the momentum on this important project.” -Ethiopian doctor at FM meeting at AAU
AHED volunteers:
Jane Philpott, MD CCFP, Chief of Family Medicine, Markham Stouffville Hospital. Assistant Prof, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto.
Katherine Rouleau, MDCM, CCFP, MHSc, Assistant professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, U of Toronto; Active Staff, Department of Family and Community Medicine, St-Michael’s Hospital, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto.
Kevin Bezanson, MD, CCFP, DTMH, is a lecturer in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto and a family physician practicing in Palliative Care, Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care, Mt Sinai Hospital.
Eileen Nicolle, B. Arts Sc (Honours), MD CM, CCFP, is a faculty physician – Health for All Family Health Team, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto.
Marc Abbyad, M.Sc., BEng, is a Project Manager and Software Engineer for Medic Mobile.
II. Master of Science in Nursing (Addis Ababa)
AHED’s current project in Ethiopia is being carried out jointly with the Centralized School of Nursing at Addis Ababa University (CSN) and the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto (LSBFN). The project had its beginning in meetings held in Addis Ababa in 2007, and focuses on support and development of the Masters of Science in Nursing (MScN) program at the CSN through cooperative teaching and curriculum planning, and thesis mentorship. Amy Bender, Assistant Professor, LSBFN, coordinates the project in collaboration with Asrat Demissie, Director, CSN and Amsale Cherie, Lecturer (&Research Curriculum Coordinator), CSN.
“I am studying depression in hospitalized patients because many patients in Ethiopian health institutions suffer co-morbid conditions yet depression is not well identified and treated” – Aklilu former Chief Nursing Director at Ayder Referral Hospital
The relationship is organized around tenets of collective and cooperative practice. Efforts are aimed at achieving sustainable, locally desired results by developing the capacity of nurses to undertake research and influence policy, and strengthening nursing leadership through scholarship. There are currently about 70 students in the MScN program, with admission numbers increasing every year. A total of four teaching trips by LSBFN faculty and associates are taking place from Fall 2011 to Spring 2013.
“I chose to study palliative care in Addis Ababa because many people suffer with chronic diseases in Ethiopia, but palliative care is not well understood or utilized” – Hiwot, Lecturer, Gondar University
AHED Volunteer:
Amy Bender, RN, PhD, Assistant Professor, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto
III. Integrating Community Service Learning into the Undergraduate Nutrition Curriculum (Hawassa University)
Food insecurity is one of the critical problems influencing the well-being of vulnerable populations, and Ethiopia has one of the highest levels of food insecurity and protein-calorie malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa. Addressing this problem not only requires an adequate supply of food but also entails availability, access, and utilization by men and women of all ages, ethnicities, religions, and socioeconomic levels. For the past several years, the University of Saskatchewan and Hawassa University (HU) have together explored ways to meet the particular challenges of utilization.
In January 2011 Carol Henry began correspondence with faculty members at Hawassa University in an effort to establish a capstone course in Community Service Learning (CSL) at the senior undergraduate level. In April 2011 Doreen Walker helped to design the senior CSL course, and in May and June Henry, and Walker participated in the design of the CSL component of the undergraduate course. Walker spent much of her time meeting with Hawassa University faculty and local NGOs and health care personnel who offered support for the project.
From July through September there was further work developing the service learning component of the undergraduate course. In October of 2011 Henry continued this work with Hawassa University faculty in the project of Integrating Service Learning into the Undergraduate Nutrition Curriculum, which enhanced an existing senior undergraduate course again using the Community Service Learning (CSL) framework. The project supports HU’s commitment to provide innovative, high quality undergraduate and graduate education. Trained undergraduate faculty are integrating Service learning into the undergraduate curriculum this fall, and Henry is scheduled to return to Hawassa in the Spring of 2012 and will continue work with HU faculty in integrating CSL into the undergraduate curriculum.
AHED Volunteers:
Carol J. Henry, PhD (University of Western Ontario) Associate Professor of Nutrition and Dietetic, College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan
Doreen Walker, Professional Practice Coordinator, College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan