announce an international training course
PROMOTING RATIONAL DRUG USE IN THE COMMUNITY
5-17 September 2004
This is a two-week course for health programme staff from ministries of health, universities, development agencies, nongovernmental and other organizations, and individuals interested in improving medicines use in the community.
OBJECTIVES
This ground breaking course was developed to meet requests from many individuals and organizations, and to respond to a clear need for more effective planning, research and implementation of rational medicines use activities in the community. The course concentrates on methods to study and remedy inappropriate medicines use in the community, including an essential analysis of what shapes medicines demand. Participants will learn practical approaches to investigating and prioritizing medicines use problems, and how to develop effective strategies for change. It will focus on medicines use to alleviate the AIDS pandemic.
DESIGN
The course is participatory in nature and uses the knowledge, skills and experiences of participants as a major resource throughout. Teaching methods include group activities, field work, presentations and discussions. Participants will spend the two final days preparing a detailed plan of action to confront an important community drug use problem in their country of origin. The course is conducted in English, and given its interactive nature participants need a good command of that language to participate fully. Course materials were developed by WHO and the University of Amsterdam, in collaboration with colleagues throughout the world. Participants will thus be exposed to a wide range of international experience. The course complements and follows a similar approach to the international training course on promoting rational drug use held regularly by the International Network for Rational Use of Drugs (INRUD) and WHO.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Factors that shape demand for medicines
- Methods to identify community medicines use problems
- How to prioritize problems related to medicines use
- Moving from research to practice
- Use of different media channels
- Face-to-face education
- Pretesting materials
- Advocacy and networking
- Planning and evaluating interventions
- Field exercises to assess medicines use with a particular focus on AIDS-related conditions
VENUE
Week 1 will be conducted at a venue in Pretoria, with the second week in a country setting.
FEES AND APPLICATION
The fee of US$ 2,950 covers tuition, course materials (including a core library for participants to take home), shared accommodation and all meals. Single rooms are available at an extra cost of approximately US$ 20 per night payable by participants. The fee for local participants without accommodation, breakfast or dinner is US$ 1,500. Participants should plan to bring sufficient funds (approximately US$ 200) for incidental expenses such as laundry, postage, telephone calls, souvenirs, airport tax, etc. All travel expenses and health insurance are the responsibility of participants or their sponsoring organization.
Application forms are obtainable from the address below or can be printed out directly from the EDM web-page at The deadline for receipt of applications at the address given below is
16 July 2004. Fees are payable before 13 August 2004.
University of Amsterdam
FMG,Tel: +31 20 5252670
PRDUC CourseFax: +31 20 5253010
Attn. Mrs Annelies DijkstraE-mail:
Oudezjids Achterburgwal 185
1012 DK Amsterdam, The Netherlands
COLLABORATING INSTITUTIONS
WHO's Department of Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy (EDM), Geneva
The Department of Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy provides global guidance and works with countries to develop and implement national medicines policies and programmes. The aim is to ensure that essential medicines are accessible to all the population, and that medicines are safe, effective and rationally used. EDM also conducts training and research to tackle problems in medicines procurement, accessibility, safety and use that countries face in a rapidly changing pharmaceutical environment. The Department has an extensive publications programme including series on research, health economics and drugs, and interagency guidelines. EDM's Essential Drugs Monitor - published in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Chinese - is an important source of information on new developments and experience.
Medical Anthropology Unit (MAU), University of Amsterdam
The Medical Anthropology Unit, part of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, has a long tradition in applied and critical social science. It collaborates with many national and international academic institutions and development organizations. The MAU is known for its action- and policy-oriented research on the use and distribution of pharmaceuticals, gender and reproductive health, and injections and culture, which has resulted in a steady stream of publications in Dutch and international journals. Within The Netherlands, the MAU is the sole provider of a comprehensive master's course in medical anthropology, attended by social science and medical students of the University of Amsterdam and other universities. The Unit also regularly organizes conferences on current issues in international health.
KIT-HEALTH, Royal Tropical Institute
KIT-HEALTH is part of the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) in Amsterdam, which is a diverse and multi-faceted international institute engaged ina broad range of activities in the areas of development cooperation and multicultural exchange. Through institutional cooperation KIT contributes to an exchange of skills and knowledge worldwide. KIT-HEALTH staff is made up of an international, multidisciplinary team of experts, which includes specialists in the areas of public health, disease control, health economics, nutrition, epidemiology, human resource development, drug policy, health ecology and social sciences. KIT-HEALTH provides technical support and advice in a variety of health and health-related fields through training programmes, operational research and short- and long-term consultancies. Partners include universities, health care research institutes and governmental and nongovernmental organizations.
The School of Pharmacy, MEDUNSA will be the host institution. Through experience gained in more than 20 years of training and project management, the School of Pharmacy at MEDUNSA has developed highly efficient practices for presenting training programmes and fielding project teams. These programmes include Pharmacy support staff basic and post-basic training; Information sessions for intern tutors; Assistance with national pharmaceutical infrastructures (evaluation of selection, procurement, distribution, storage and use of medicines and vaccines); Health care providers, trainers and managers (promoting rational drug use, training of trainers, basic pharmacoeconomics, promoting rational drug use, research methodology, National Drug Policy). The School has worked with a wide range of national and international organisations.
TRAINERS
Prof. Dr. Anita Hardon is Scientific Director of the Amsterdam School of Social Science Research (ASSR) and Head of the Medical Anthropology Unit, University of Amsterdam, a medical biologist and medical anthropologist. Her doctoral research on the use and distribution of medicines in the Philippines has been followed by many other published studies on medicine use, applied health research, quality of care, and fertility regulation. She is author of a WHO manual on how to study drug use in communities and leader of an international collaborative study in this field. Her activities include running a five-week course on anthropology of health and health care, and working with consumer organizations on rational drug use and women’s health.
Mr Andrew Chetley is the Director of Exchange, a networking and learning programme on health communication, that aims to identify and share good practice. A trained journalist and communications specialist, he has worked with a range of NGOs and international organizations in the field of health, education and development. He is the author of five books on public health issues, including the rational use of drugs, and has experience of training health workers and the media in effective communication.
Ms Trudie Gerrits (Course Coordinator) is working at the Medical Anthropology Unit at the University of Amsterdam. She has a background in medical anthropological research and health communication. She has more than 15 years’ experience in medical anthropological research, lecturing and project coordination.
Ms Ane Haaland is a communications trainer with a background in social science, journalism and photography. She conducts intervention research on training aspects of rational drug use for providers and community members, and has developed a number of manuals on the subject. During 15 years based in the field in Asia and Africa she has focussed on research and development of visual methods to communicate with low-literate audiences, and on programme implementation and evaluation. She teaches on participatory learning methods, interpersonal communication and journalism.
Ms Catherine Hodgkin is Head of the Health Department of the Royal Tropical Institute in The Netherlands (KIT): a multidisciplinary group of consultants and trainers working in the field of health and development. For ten years she was international coordinator of Health Action International (Europe), an international network of NGOs and public interest groups working to promote a more rational use of drugs. She has extensive experience in the field of drug policy and consumer advocacy, and has contributed to a variety of training activities for consumers, health professionals and policy makers.
Dr Richard Laing is a Medical Officer in WHO's Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy Department. He has worked previously as a professor at BostonUniversity and as a consultant for Management Sciences for Health in Boston. In Africa, he worked in the Ministry of Health in Zimbabwe for 18 years. He has been responsible for developing other WHO supported courses in Promoting Rational Drug Use and Drug Policy Issues for Developing and Transitional Countries. He has a particular interest in methods of measuring and changing medicine use at different levels within a health system.
Prof. Robert S. Summers is the Head of the School of Pharmacy at the MedicalUniversity of Southern Africa (MEDUNSA). He is known and has been consulted provincially, nationally and internationally for his expertise in the fields of health and pharmaceutical services management and research. He has published over 90 research papers, as well as many books and full-length research reports. He is well- known for his leadership role in pharmaceutical education and training.