Partnership Working
Workshop for medical and health information professionals in Nigeria
10th – 14th November 2008
Photo: Nigeria Workshop - November 2008
HLG is pleased to have been able to sponsor participants’ bursaries for a three-day workshop for medical and health information professionals in Nigeria in November 2008.
The unique gathering of medical and health information professionals from across Nigeria took place in Benin City. The workshop which was entitled ‘Recent Directions and Trends in Medical and Health Information in Nigeria and HINARI Training’ was coordinated by Mr Olu Ogundipe (Phi Trustee and University of Benin Library Consultant) and held under the auspices of AHILA-NIGERIANA.
The workshop was funded by a generous grant from the New England Journal of Medicine and supported by the Information Training and Outreach Centre for Africa (ITOCA), Partnerships in Health Information (Phi) and the University of Benin Library.
Training in HINARI was led by ITOCA’s Head of Training, Mr. Vimbai Hungwe, recently elected President of the Association of Health Information and Libraries in Africa (AHILA). This provided participants with an overview of HINARI and the 5,500 full-text electronic health and medical journals that are available through the programme, and its importance in medical and health education, training and research. The two-day training provided hands-on experience on how to use and access electronic resources available through the programme. This included practical sessions using computer facilities and aimed to provide an introduction to the HINARI programme, managing electronic resources, copyright and licensing e-resources, navigating the HINARI site and registering for HINARI.
This was followed by two days of presentations, practical sessions and discussions, with speakers drawn from local professionals in Nigeria. Issues covered included: accessing health information in Nigeria; evidence based approaches; medical and health databases; online information retrieval techniques; knowledge management in the health sciences; problem based learning; journal clubs; HINARI and its practical application.
The workshop successfully achieved its aims of: contributing to the continuing professional development of health librarians and information professionals from universities and hospitals throughout Nigeria; providing an update on new and relevant aspects of health librarianship and sharing experiences amongst participants; and providing skills and knowledge to better utilise and access electronic resources available through the HINARI programme.
For more information, please contact:
Hélène Gorring, International Officer
Helene.gorring@bsmhft.nhs.uk