Connecting Frontline Health Workers to Training and Information
By Carolyn Moore, mPowering Frontline Health Workers
For most people in developing countries, frontline health workers are the first and often only source of essential health services.
Our partners and colleagues in the Frontline Health Workers Coalition support health workers through advocacy, programs, and policy. At mPowering Frontline Health Workers (mPowering), we focus on training. With the right training and ready access to information they need, frontline health workers can provide critical and life-saving care to their communities.
However, research shows that training for frontline health workers is often inconsistent, insufficient, or simply not available. With the rapid growth of mobile technology worldwide, mobile health (mHealth) offers an unprecedented opportunity to improve opportunities for training. With even a basic mobile phone, frontline health workers can listen, learn, and teach, using interactive health content. With access to the right information and training, frontline health workers can use audio and video to support health education in communities; keep up to date with new learning or refresh their skills, and use diagnostic tools to guide them in their work.
This June, mPowering launched ORB, an online library of mobile-optimized training content. ORB aims to help frontline workers access the knowledge they need to transform health outcomes for millions of women and children. ORB is freely available and accessible through Internet-enabled mobile devices; and content can be saved to share offline. All of the content on ORB is published under an open license, meaning that anyone can use, distribute, and in some cases adapt, the content on ORB. With over 300 resources, in 14 languages, ORB’s resources are being accessed in more than 100 countries.
By combining easy-to-use, open source content that health workers can use online or offline, ORB has the potential to radically enhance the quality and reach of existing training efforts.
ORB by mPowering from Nathan Heidt on Vimeo. We encourage users to view, share, and adapt the content on the site; and we welcome submissions of new content and interest in becoming a content partner. Visit ORB today to explore the content; and contact mPowering to learn more.
mPowering is a partnership working to support effective training, supervision and support for frontline health workers. We leverage the power of mobile technologies to connect health workers to the information and on-the-job resources they need. Learn more at www.mpoweringhealth.org.