Building on an existing collaboration between Zambia’s National Defense Force (ZDF) and the US Department of
Defense’s Naval Medical Center in San Diego, the Twinning Center established in 2005 a partnership designed to improve HIV-related care for military personnel and their families.
US partners provided technical assistance and helped
create replicable, integrated models of HIV treatment, care, and support that included enhanced access to
evidence-based practices, improving the management of patients on ART, and developing an electronic record system to track and monitor patients and improve
treatment adherence.
With CDC support, partners soon established two Learning Resource Centers (LRCs) at Maina Soko Military
Hospital and the Nursing School Military Hospital to increase military medical personnel’s access to
evidenced-based research and guidelines. These
LRCs serve as learning hubs, providing training on basic computer schools, advanced data retrieval, and evidence-based practices in HIV/AIDS service delivery.
The success of these centers formed the basis for the Zambian Defense Forces Learning Resources Center Initiative. AIHA provides direct technical support to ZDF military medical personnel through its long-standing LRC Project, which is designed to improve provider access to evidence-based clinical resources as a means of enhancing management of patients living with HIV.
As of October 2011, AIHA established LRCs at eight ZDF clinical sites throughout the country, identifying and training information coordinators for each center in the network.
Through these LRCs, healthcare personnel can easily tap into a wealth of up-to-date clinical research, texts, case studies, treatment protocols, and other evidenced-based resources that can serve to guide their practice and improve quality of care.
AIHA supports effective use and scale up of the LRCs by providing targeted training on evidence-based medicine, proper research protocols, online resources, and other relevant topics through workshops and distance learning courses.
In the coming year, ZDF and AIHA will collaborate to establish seven additional LRCs and continue training medical personnel in effective research and implementation techniques.
Updated November 15, 2011
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