Improving access to information for nurses and midwives in developing countries: ICM, ICN and RCN co-hosted a meeting of the Health Information Forum of the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications, held September 2003.

The ICM, International Council of Nurses, Royal College of Nursing (RCN), and the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications in health (INASP-Health) held a special meeting of the Health Information Forum, on 23 September 2003, at RCN headquarters in London.

The aim of the meeting was to raise awareness about issues relating to the continuing professional development of midwives and nurses in developing and emerging countries. The conference focused on ways to increase access to healthcare information and knowledge for those working in low-resource settings, who are currently professionally isolated.

The meeting was preceded by a global e-mall discussion around this subject, on 'HIF-net at WHO'.

Sylvia Denton, President of the RCN, chaired the meeting and introduced the speakers. The first to set the scene was Nester Moyo, Programme Manager at the ICM.

Nester opened with the question 'Why do we need information?' and answered it with the assertion that 'Information produces interest, interest leads to inspiration, inspiration leads to involve-ment, and involvement leads to investment'. To back this up, she described her own early experience of working in an isolated area of Zimbabwe. Here information was hard to come by, and only available via the district hospital, but its very scarcity gave it value, and any relevant piece of knowledge was put to use. If it improved patient care, this soon became obvious, and raised the morale of both patients and professionals. In turn, this fuelled the desire to gain more knowledge and turn it to the benefit of those being cared for.

The 'inspiration' produced caused Nester to think 'I can be part of those people who are producing the information', and in due course she became a teacher of midwives and eventually took up her current post at ICM. During this life experience, she found many questions arising, issues that must be addressed and traps to avoid.

Information for workers in remote areas

Nester recommended pursuing any possibilities of working with local networks--right there in the isolated areas--so that local knowledge is assimilated into care, thus making care more acceptable to the recipients. Adaptability of the information to the site of use by the end receiver is important, as is cultural appropriateness and acceptability by the user.

What Information? Who decides what information needs to be sent out or what needs to be searched? Is it relevant to the health care provided in isolated places? Are the decision-makers those who...