urc-swaziland monthly newsletter · improving systems to empower communities the first workshop...

Improving systems to empower communities

The first workshop that took place in the year 2014 was the Quality Assurance / Quality im-

provement Training. The workshop brought together all URC Swaziland staff as well as repre-

sentatives from the Ministry of Health. At the end of this workshop the URC– Swaziland Coun-

try Director took the opportunity to welcome staff to a new year and share a few words with

them.. This is what he had to say:

FOREWORD BY THE COUNTRY DIRECTOR

“It was quite encouraging to see the

number of participants present through-

out the QA/QI workshop, given the im-

portance it holds. The training has

helped equip the participants respective-

ly from the Ministry of Health, URC staff

and from other health facilities with skills

required to implement quality improve-

ment interventions. The participants’

engagement was truly commendable, as

they gave the facilitators their full atten-

tion and participated actively.

Quality assurance is the best way for

making use of innovative approaches to

help assist the country’s government

improve service delivery. The training

has stimulated us to ask questions,

which will help us fill the gaps which

have been left unattended. After the

training our Quality Assurance methods

have been instilled in us and sharpened,

I am quite confident that we will be

able to implement it as we go back to

our designated workstations.

To the URC staff let us continue to

make ourselves sharp and become

change agents. With the knowledge

and attitude we acquired, it is time to

make it real. The only way we can

achieve that is to practise and apply

what we learn daily.”

I thank you

10 March 2014 Volume 1, Issue 1

URC-SWAZILAND MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

January-February 2014 Issue

Inside this issue:

Quality Assurance/Quality

Improvement training

2

The Kaizen Event 3

Infection Control Prevention:

Focal Persons Training

4

Improving Injection Safety

and Healthcare Waste Man-

agement

5

In-service Training Improve-

ment Project Stakeholder

Consultation Workshop

6

URC-Swaziland Staff Quar-

terly Review Meeting

7

GeneXpert Instrument 7

Strengthening Monitoring &

Evaluation for SHLS &

NTCP

8

Provision of HIV/TB Health

Education during the Annual

Marula Festivals at Ebuhleni

and Hlane Resident

9

Paediatric Study 10

Stepwise Laboratory Im-

provement Process Towards

Accreditation Auditors

Training

11

Wellness Centre & TB

Screening for Healthcare

Workers Project Review

12

Infectious Disease Institute:

“A Healthier Africa”

13

Other February Activities 14

Dr. Samson Haumba - URC Swaziland Country Director


Tina Maartens - URC South Africa, Senior Quality Improvement Advisor

Both the USAID ASSIST project and

the CDC lab project apply scientific

principles, methods and evidence to

address chal lenges to make

healthcare services better. To achieve

this there is a need to apply science to

strengthen and improve programs, by

applying Quality Assurance methodol-

ogies.

QUALITY ASSURANCE AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT TRAINING

URC-SWAZILAND MONTHLY NEWSLETTER January-February 2014

JANUARY ACTIVITY

From the 28th to the 30th of January

2014, for the benefit of both project staff

and MOH QA staff a Quality Assurance

and Quality Improvement workshop was

hosted at the Mountain Inn Hotel, in

Mbabane. The training was facilitated by

Tina Maartens, a Senior Quality Im-

provement Advisor at URC South Africa.

The objectives of the training were to:

Define the concepts related to

Quality

Apply the Quality Assurance

methodologies in their various

work situations.

Use various quality management

tools for problem analysis and

problem solving.

Implement facility Quality Im-

provement plan to address quali-

ty gaps

A wide range of techniques have

been used to improve healthcare

including improvement cycles, clinical

audit, guidelines , evidence based

medicine, to name a few.

URC however believes that training

can be an effective lever for improv-

ing the quality of TB and HIV

healthcare service delivery. The no-

tion behind training URC project staff

is not just restricted in ensuring that

they have the skills needed to im-

prove the quality of healthcare.

However it is also to ensure that they

have the ability to apply new skills to

impact positively on attitudes,

knowledge and behaviours of those

they are supporting.

URC Staff divided into four groups, working on some of the training’s activities.


What is the Kaizen Training?

Kaizen is a Japanese management

concept which means ‘improvement’ or

‘change for the best’. It refers to the

philosophy or practices that focus upon

continuous improvement of processes.

Therefore the kaizen event is a rapid

improvement workshop designed to

produce results and approaches to

discrete process issues within a

few days. It is a way for teams to

carry out structured, but creative

problem solving and process im-

provement, in a workshop.

Unlike the Western philosophy, “if it

isn’t broken don’t fix it”, the URC –

Swaziland office applies, the Kaizen

philosophy which is “changing for the

better” .

Kaizen is a system that involves every

employee, from upper management to

junior staff and as per the URC lan-

guage both ASSIST and LAB staff. Both

the ASSIST and LAB are expected to

come up with small improvement pro-

jects on a regular basis. In a bid to

achieve the URC goals, the first kaizen

event was held in March 2011, with the

most recent Kaizen event attended by

URC staff falling on the 2nd and 3rd of

December last year.

At this training the participants were

oriented on strategies performance and pro-

cesses that can be improved as a team as

well as put in place innovative methods on

achieving efficient and effective performance.

The Kaizen training was beneficial for the

participants because by the end of the train-

ing they were able to identify and apply con-

tinuous improvement methods, ensuring the

best value to customers.

After the training, participants acquired the

skill of identifying best methods to apply for

work process improvements, which would

assist in eliminating wastage, improving effi-

ciencies. Also vital to note is the fact that on

a day-to-day basis, URC runs a number of

projects, so the Kaizen event was key in

helping URC staff to understand and re-com-

THE KAIZEN EVENT: “CHANGING FOR THE BETTER”

December Extra...

Volume 1, Issue 1

mit to project goals.

Participants at the training were taken

out of their comfort zone when putting

Kaizen events into practice because

such events are meant to be short and

focused. Therefore, facilitators had to

be efficient in their selection and execu-

tion of problem solving tools.

Tools that were used during this work-

shop were non-statistical tools such as

the value stream map which was the

most used tool, others included fish-

bone and brainstorming.

Kaizen involves setting standards and

then continually improving those stand-

ards. In order to set these standards, the

URC staff had to identify process for

improvement.

To identify these methods the partici-

pants used a brainstorming method

guided by a set prioritization criteria.

Four processes were identified namely,

joint clinical mentoring; training; procure-

ment; and timesheets and performance

appraisal.

After the identification of these process-

es it was with no doubt that the partici-

pants were well motivated and geared

up to start implementing ‘positive

change’ in the organisation.

The Kaizen word

was created after

World War II. The

‘Kai’ means

“change” and the

‘Zen’ means

“good”.


Practical sessions of the training at the TB hospital.

There are a number of diseases that

may pass from patients to health care

workers in the hospital environment.

Take tuberculosis (TB) for instance,

health care workers come into contact

with different kinds of patients, exposing

them to the risk of disease transmission.

This then creates a cycle where the

healthcare workers could also end up

exposing other patients to infections. It is

in this regard that there is a need for

Infection Prevention and Control (IPC)

guidelines in hospitals.

University Research Co., LLC (URC)

recently conducted a training for health

care workers on basic Infection Preven-

tion and Control manual. The training

took place at the Global Village, Manzini

starting from the 3rd to the 7th of February.

A total of 36 participants from the Ministry

of Health and other health facilities at-

tended the five day residential workshop.

The key objective of the training was to

capacitate health care workers on Infec-

tion prevention control issues by improv-

ing their skills and knowledge. The work-

shop also came in handy as it helped

refresh IPC skill and knowledge and also

capacitated IPC focal persons, TB coordi-

nators, trainers on IPC tools. These skills

and tasks are important in the patient’s

outcome.

The training was facilitated by 8 trainers

respectively from URC, National TB Con-

trol Programme (NTCP), Swaziland Na-

tional AIDS Programme (SNAP) under the

ministry of health (MOH), laMvelase and

RFM. Group discussions were incorpo-

rated as part of the training methods. To

assess progress or whether the partici-

pants benefited from the workshop, on the

first day of the workshop they participated

in a pre-test followed by a post test at the

INFECTION CONTROL PREVENTION: FOCAL PERSONS TRAINING

end of the five day program. The results gath-

ered from the pre-test show that participants

benefitted from the workshop. Sitting in a room

and being lectured is not always as conducive,

therefore for this training practical sessions

were a part of the program. Participants were

deployed in three facilities, namely RFM Hospi-

tal, National TB Hospital and the Mbabane

Government Hospital. The participants were

each assessed on the below listed tools:

TB IPC Risk assessment tool

Hand Hygiene action observation form

and compliance tool

Hand wash infrastructure survey tool

The URC health systems approach seeks to

strengthen performance by providing systemat-

ic work designs which are guided by the World

Health Organization. When these systems are

implemented accordingly, health systems are

improved. Reminders serve the purpose of

reminding. The IPC manual will serve the same

purpose for health care workers in their day-to-

day activities, improving the quality of life and

reducing the number of deaths to poor infection

control.

Volume 1, Issue 1

Pre-test and post test results, showing the progress made by the participants.


There is a lack of evidence on injec-

tion use and disposal in Swaziland.

However a study conducted in 2004,

showed that needle and syringe reuse

is prevalent in the country. Medical

injections are the most common pro-

cedures worldwide. Injection proce-

dures can save lives if done correctly,

but they could also cause devastating

results if not handled correctly.

As a means to gather the evidence

and to work on promoting and improv-

ing injection safety and healthcare

waste management practices, the

University Research CO., LLC (URC)

has since partnered with the Ministry

of Health (MOH). Together URC and

MOH are conducting an injection

safety and healthcare waste manage-

ment baseline assessment and relat-

ed stigma research in a collaborative

effort to improve injection safety and

waste management in the health sec-

IMPROVING INJECTION SAFETY & HEALTHCARE WASTE MANAGEMENT: Injection Safety and Related Stigma

Volume 1, Issue 1

tor in Swaziland.

With the project strategy drafted last year

in June, implementation has com-

menced. The first agenda that was tar-

geted on the list was to conduct a base-

line assessment which was done last

year in December. The latest activity fell

on the 4th and 5TH of February, which

was a training focused on injection safety

and related stigma and was held at the

URC premises.

The driving force behind the study is to

find out about injection safety and waste

management practices in Swaziland and

the health care providers’ experiences on

injection safety as they relate to stigma

and discrimination.

The training facilitated by Rhea Bright,

remotely by Sarah Smith from the URC

headquarters and Mandzisi Mkhontfo

from URC Swaziland, was to build ca-

pacity of data collectors to collect qualita-

tive data through interviews. A total of

5 social science graduates were

trained. After the two-days training,

three days were set aside for data

collection. The site visits to the 6

health facilities was aimed at building

the capacity of the researchers on

interviewing skills and qualitative

research methodologies.

A total of six sites were visited for qualitative

data collection. These are:

1. Siphocosini Clinic

2. Phocweni Clinic

3. Silele Clinic

4. Piggs Peak PHU

5. Matsanjeni PHU

6. Hlathikhulu Government Hospital

Rhea Bright and Mandzisi Mkhontfo facili-tating each ses-sion during the training .

The team of researchers and the two facilitators (3rd & 4th from the left) posing before going out to collect data at the sites.


Workshops have become a norm for

most organisations globally, however the

question that always stands out is, How

beneficial are these workshops? The

introduction of the in-service training

(IST) improvement project is currently in

discussions due to the obvious reasons.

On the 6th of February 2014, URC-

Swaziland hosted its second stakeholder

consultative workshop at Emafini Coun-

try Lodge.

The objectives for this workshop were to

introduce global in-service training im-

provement framework. A consensus on

expected outcomes of the project would

be achieved, after discussions and in-

puts on the theory of change have been

incorporated.

Another objective of the workshop was to

brainstorm and reach mutual agreement

on changes to be prototyped and tested to

develop a plan for testing changes. Finally

the last objective of the workshop was to

review and provide feedback on the base-

line assessment objectives and draft tools

of the IST project.

The Global In-Service Training Improve-

ment framework was presented to the

stakeholders providing a background of the

project in Swaziland. The framework was

appreciated although some suggestions

were brought forward. One suggestion that

was emphasized the most was that

there is a need to study the Swaziland

context and customize the framework

before implementation.

Agreed upon expected outcomes of the

IST improvements is a competent

Health care workforce which will lead to

improving the provision of health care

services in Swaziland.

There are pre-conditions required to

achieve this outcome, these include pre

-service education, competency based

deployment, availability of resources

and effective management systems,

like performance appraisals.

IN SERVICE TRAINING (IST) IMPROVEMENT PROJECT STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION WORKSHOP

Volume 1, Issue 1

A consensus was reached on the best way to pilot the IST coordination mechanism. Below are the proceeding fac-

tors which were decided on:

What are we piloting? Coordination structure with defined roles

Development and use of a Training

Management of training information

Feasibility of training coordination mechanisms Where, which region?

It was agreed that the pilot be carried out in Manzini and Sishelweni

At what scale?

All programs in the selected regions Who will be involved?

Facility IST coordinators

Ministry of Health training officers

Ministry of Public Service Human Resource development department

Training providers and partners

Strategic information department


Thirty-four University Research CO.,

LLC (URC) staff members gathered

at the Mountain Inn Hotel on the 27th

and 28th of January to attend the

Quarterly Review Meeting (QRM).

At this workshop URC staff were

given a platform to share their day-

to-day activities, achievements and

progress made during the previous

quarter in both LAB and ASSIST

projects.

The QRM themed “Instutionalization

of Quality Improvement” was aimed

at supporting both ASSIST and LAB

project staff to effectively monitor

progress towards set targets, provid-

ing an opportunity of collective shar-

ing and learning sessions for the

staff.

It is safe to suggest that the QRM

workshop is vital for the sustenance

of the organization. Apart from re-

viewing progress that has been

made towards reaching set targets,

gaps and challenges are identified

and corrective methods made. What

makes this workshop even more

important is that participants are able

to identify areas of collaboration and

to share best practices, which could

help with project sustainability and

ensure a smooth handover to the

Ministry of Health.

URC-SWAZILAND STAFF QUARTERLY REVIEW MEETING (QRM)

Each presentation covered the

following aspects about a facility or

project:

A brief introduction

What are we trying to accomplish,

h o w w i l l w e k n o w a n d

geographical coverage

Set targets

Key results and performances

presented in graphs and tables

Lessons learnt

Best practices

Volume 1, Issue 1

JANUARY ACTIVITY

The recently installed 16 module (GX16) GeneXpert Instrument

Installed on the 24th of February

2014 the GeneXpert Instrument

has replaced the 4 module instru-

ment. The central lab in Mbabane

has now been equipped with an

instrument that has the capacity

to run 64-80 GeneXpert samples

in a day. A total of 1280 - 1600

tests a month.

GeneXpert INSTRUMENT


The Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI)

was contracted by URC to provide tech-

nical assistance support to Swaziland

Health Laboratory Services (SHLS) in the

areas of: Mentorship on Stepwise Labora-

tory Improvement Processes Towards

Accreditation and Strengthening Labora-

tory Management towards Accreditation

(SLIPTA/SLMTA) to accelerate laboratory

accreditation; Mentorship on leadership

and management of SHLS in line with

operationalizing the management struc-

ture of the SHLS; and setting up a men-

toring and evaluation (M&E) system in-

cluding developing an M&E plan for the

SHLS strategic plan for 2014-2018.

Following the first visit last year, this visit

by IDI representatives counted as the

second phase of the on ground mission

visit from the 14th to the 28th of February

this year. Key accomplishments that were

planned for the phase II were as follows:

Assessment of the current Data

management system in sampled

health facility laboratories.

Training on key M&E concepts

Training on data Management

Completion of M&E plan

Technical support on various

M&E and data Management

aspects

The first week was a three and a half day

workshop held from 18th to 21st February

2014 at the George Hotel in Manzini. This

workshop targeted 35 participants a combi-

nation of University Research CO., LLC

(URC) and the National TB Control Pro-

gram (NTCP) staff. The aim of the course

was to improve knowledge and skills of the

participants in project planning, enabling a

link to M&E to overall TB service delivery

and management through the development

of the NTCP M&E plan.

The second session followed a week after

the M&E training for NTCP. The second

session was a M&E training for URC, NTCP

and SHLS staff. The training, targeting 28

participants sought to improve the

knowledge and skills of participants in man-

agement of M&E data. This would enable

them to link the data management system

to M&E and the overall LAB and TB service

delivery and management.

To achieve desired goals, it was identified

that there is still a need for one on one sup-

port to key SHLS staff on presentations and

analysis of data. The support would help

with the setting up and operationalizing the

data management office at SHLS. Other

plans highlighted, going forth, were to com-

plete the SHLS M&E plan. Finally there is a

need for distance support to review data

tools, data flows and finalizing data man-

agement SOPs.

STRENGTHENING MONITORING &EVALUATION (M&E) FOR SHLS & NTCP

Volume 1, Issue 1

From the Left: IDI facilitators Brenda Kalebo and Agnes Nalutaaya during the data assessment session at Mkhuzweni Laboratory.

Attentive participants and presenta-tions during the workshop.


An annual Marula Festival, is celebrated

at the Royal residences of King Mswati III,

between the months of February and

March, during the harvesting of the fruit.

The first ceremony is normally hosted at

eBuhleni royal resident, this year falling

on the 15th of February and the second

one at Hlane royal residence on the 1st of

March. Both the King and the Queen

Mother are presented with marula beer

from each household, in keeping with it

being a 'fruit fit for kings.'

This ceremony regularly attracts thou-

sands of people from all walks of life in-

cluding tourists with interests on African

culture all come to witness and join in this

jovial ceremony of song and dance. The

National TB Control Programme (NTCP)

supported by University Research Coop-

eration (URC) saw the gathering as the

best opportunity to engage with the com-

munity by distributing Behaviour Change

and Communication (BCC) materials and

providing health talks on TB, to the thou-

sands that had been summoned by the

King.

Out of the thousands that had gathered,

close to 200 people or more received the

pamphlets at both events. These materi-

als included mostly pamphlets and ban-

dannas printed ‘Stop TB in My Lifetime’.

At both events a health desk was made

available and as it was a cultural gather-

ing consisting of a number of people from

different backgrounds, especially women,

including tourists, the distribution of these

materials was a success. The BCC mate-

rial was made available in both English

and siSwati languages targeting an even

larger group of the attendees at the ceremo-

ny. Shortly after setting up and displaying the

BCC materials a number of the attendees

visited the health desk to consult on the dis-

eases.

At the Hlane gathering, the TB team was

given a 15 minutes slot to present briefly.

The TB team used this opportunity educate

the nation on TB. Again the people were

given the opportunity to ask questions and to

share with others their experiences with the

diseases.

Given the nature of the ceremony, where

alcohol is at the disposal of the nation at the

royal residences, it was exciting to note the

fact that pamphlets were not traced on the

floor, near the health desk nor the ceremonial

grounds. Instead those whom were

handed or collected the BCC material

were still spotted carrying the materials,

even while they were rehearsing their

dance routine of which they would be

presenting before his majesty and the

royal family.

Opportunities for health education pre-

sent themselves even in the least ex-

pected places or gatherings. Therefore it

is important to make use of them, be-

cause taking advantage of that oppor-

tunity to educate a person could save a

life or even many others.

PROVISION OF HIV/TB HEALTH EDUCATION DURING

THE ANNUAL MARULA FESTIVALS AT EBUHLENI AND HLANE RESIDENT

Volume 1, Issue 1

Swazi women holding on to the health education pamphlets while dancing

Tuberculosis (TB) Smart Card translated in both English and siSwati suitable for tourist and Swazi citizens.

IEC MATERIAL ISSUED AT: HLANE

ROYAL RESIDENT

TB smart card: 212 (Siswati:

144 ; English: 96)

Protect others, protect yourself

(posters): 16 (issued to the

health facilities present)

IPC; hand-washing: 186

What is the simplest way to

protect yourself: 167

Yiba lihlahlandlela: 182

EBUHLENI ROYAL RESIDENT

Tuberculosis (TB) Smart Card

NB: These materials have been made

possible through the support of

USAID Health care Improvement

Project managed by URC.


About 8.7 million people develop tubercu-

losis (TB) globally with an extensively

high death rate of 2 million people out of

the population dying every year. Children

are no exception from the disease. An

estimated 15 -30 % of the total burden of

TB, is bore by children. TB disease has

become one of the top ten causes of

death among children. Ignorance about

the disease has unfortunately left children

out in the dark as a result they have be-

come neglected in the processes of pre-

venting, diagnosis and treatment of TB.

Instead attention is given to the adults as

per the assumption that they are the main

targets of TB.

It is on this regard that URC- Swaziland

took the initiative to start a paediatric

study to try and eliminate the issue of TB

and child negligence. The study is fo-

cused on two facilities, namely the Piggs’

Peak Hospital and the Mbabane Govern-

ment Hospital. The participation of the

children in the study will help provide the

TB program with answers on the recom-

mendations of the TB Paediatric manage-

ment guidelines. Piloting of the study

took place last year at RFM. The actual

study at the study sites started at Pigg’s

Peak on the 17th of February, with Mbaba-

ne following a week later on the 25th of

February.

USAID_ASSIST supported by the Univer-

sity Research Co., LLC (URC) and in

partnership with the National TB Control

Program (NTCP) and the Swaziland

Health Clinical Laboratory Service

(SHLS). The title of the project is

“Increasing diagnosis of childhood TB in

Swaziland: Clinical utility and validity of

various sample collection and diagnostic

methods among children in Swaziland”.

There are more factors behind the negli-

PAEDIATRIC STUDY:

Increasing Diagnosis of Childhood TB in Swaziland: Clinical Utility & Validity of Various

Sample Collection & Diagnostic Methods Among Children in Swaziland

Volume 1, Issue 1

RESEARCH ...

gence of children when it comes to TB,

which have contributed towards the im-

plementation of the Paediatric study.

These are:

There is no easy to use and ac-

curate diagnostic test for chil-

dren.

TB in children can be hard to

diagnose as most may not show

any symptoms.

Difficulty in obtaining a good

sputum sample.

Sensitivity of traditional diagnos-

tic tests is low.

New molecular-based technolo-

gies for TB diagnosis developed

have not been validated for chil-

dren.

The response to the project has mostly

been positive. Evidence of this is the way

in which TB screening officers, nurses,

doctors and care givers have shown

much enthusiasm about the initiative.

The stakeholder’s are eager to come up

with best practise methods which will

allow easier and reliable TB diagnosis for

children.

The study will focus on the two hospitals

for 6 months, continuing to provide edu-

cation on TB diagnosis in children and

sharing different diagnosis methods.

Thereafter the TB program will use the

information from the study to inform the

National TB guidelines on childhood TB

diagnosis.

Research Studies On-going

-Increasing diagnosis of childhood TB in Swazi-land: Clinical utility and validity sample collec-tion and diagnostic methods among children in

Swaziland

-A Pilot Cryptococcal Antigenemia (CrAg) Screening Program among HIV-Infected Pa-tients Attending Mbabane Government Hospi-

tal.

Operational Research Studies:

-GeneXpert Implementation and Performance

-Bi-directional Screening for Tuberculosis and

Diabetes

-Employing the FAST Strategy

Other research Related activities

-Swaziland Laboratory Research training and men-

toring program

Study sites:

Pigg’s Peak Hospital

Mbabane Government Hospital

RFM Hospital (pilot Site)


The SLIPTA auditors’ training held on

the 24th – 28th of February in South

Africa, was aimed at capacitating

participants on the implementation of

SLIPTA as an approach to apply qual-

ity management systems towards

accreditation among health laborato-

ries. Seven participants, 5 of which

were from the Ministry of Health

(MOH) and the remaining 2 were from

the University Research CO., LLC

(URC) were equipped with specific

knowledge, skills and abilities for im-

plementation, roll out and auditing to

monitor progress towards accredita-

tion.

The course delivery methods includ-

ed: tutorials, focused group discus-

STEPWISE LABORATORY IMPROVEMENT PROCESS TOWARDS ACCREDITATION (SLIPTA) AUDITORS TRAINING

Volume 1, Issue 1

sions and mock audits which were con-

ducted at the Chris Hani Hospital Labora-

tory. This laboratory was accredited by

the South African National Accreditation

System (SANAS).

The training covered the following con-

tents:

Overview of SLIPTA as an Ap-

proach.

Introduction to laboratory quality

management system and accred-

itation.

SLIPTA audit processes

Review and interpretation of the

WHO- AFRO SLIPTA checklist

and the ISO 15189: 2012 require-

ments.

Moving forward it was decided that

participants from Swaziland would

have to train, coach and mentor la-

boratory staff on the knowledge skills

and best practices of which they

learnt at the training. They would

further work with the Swaziland La-

boratory Health Laboratory Services

(SHLS) and its partners to implement

a strategy for preparing laboratories

for ASLM SLIPTA enrolment and

certification process. An internal and

external audit schedule was devel-

oped to be implemented in the

months of March and April to prepare

for the proposed ASLM audits in May.

Training facilitators posing with participants from Swaziland


Globally Health Care workers are at risk

category for TB and MDR-TB infection,

their direct contact with the patients

exposes them to infection at their work-

place. The Wellness Centre has inte-

grated TB into its operations by provid-

ing TB screening and treatment ser-

vices to all health care workers, provid-

ing special attention to HIV/AIDS cli-

ents.

In support of reducing the TB burden

amongst health care workers (HCW),

the Wellness Centre signed a Memo-

randum of Understanding with Universi-

ty Research Cooperation (URC) to con-

duct a TB screening project for HCW.

This was done after a funding from

International Nursing Council (ICN) to

support the project that was going to

run for a period of one year. The

screening process was undertaken at

14 facilities in Swaziland for all HCWs.

Guiding objective for the project were

as follows: To create awareness and

sensitization among HCW on Tubercu-

losis (TB, TB/HIV, MDR-TB and IC), to

conduct facility based trainings for

Wellness Clinics Focal Persons and

TB trainees from the sites and conduct

systematic TB Screening Services

among HCWs in the 12 sites.

The one year period has since ex-

pired. On the 10th –11th of February

4 facilities were visited to review the

success of the projects in the different

wellness clinics. These include Good

Shepherd Hospital, Pigg’s Peak Hospi-

tal, Mankayane Hospital and Matsan-

jeni Health Centre. Supervisors and

beneficiaries of the project were inter-

viewed to share their views on the

lessons learnt and way forward to note

the need of continuing with the project.

WELLNESS CENTRE AND TB SCREENING FOR HEALTH CARE WORKERS PROJECT REVIEW

Volume 1, Issue 1

Phestile Mamba from the Well-ness Centre and Makhosazana Matsebula from Hhohho SID in-terviewing bene-ficiaries of the project.

Nurse at the Good Shepherd Hospital, Wellness Clinic

Interview session with supervisors


The establishment of the Ugandan non-

profit organisation Infectious Disease

Institute by the Makerere University was

driven by the vision to have a healthier

Africa , free from the burden of infec-

tious disease. To achieve this IDI’s

mission is to strengthen health systems

in Africa, with a strong emphasis on

infectious disease, through research

and capacity development.

The IDI team visited Swaziland to pro-

vide assistance in some of the challeng-

es faced by the Ministry of Health

(MOH). Five IDI representatives were

sent to help build the capacity of some

facilities in under the MOH. These in-

clude the National TB Control Pro-

gramme (NTCP) and the Swaziland

Health Laboratory Services (SHLS).

The objective of the visit was to train

workers on improving lab services as

well as provide support for in strategic

and development of the a SHLS plan.

Activities that the IDI team engaged in

included site visits and the hosting of

capacity building workshops. Some of

the workshops that were hosted in-

clude, the document control workshop,

the Monitoring and evaluation (M&E)

training for NTCP,SHLS and URC staff

and the leadership training to name a

few.

A presentation that became a highlight

at these workshops was that of Richard

N Walwema, from IDI on capacity pyra-

mid and the change process model.

INFECTIOUS DISEASE INSTITUTE (IDI): “A Healthier Africa”

Volume 1, Issue 1

TOOLSTOOLS

SKILLSSKILLS

STAFF & INFRASTRUCTURESTAFF & INFRASTRUCTURE

STRUCTURES, ROLES & SYSTEMS

COGNISANCE OF LOCAL CONTENT

Richard N. Walwema- IDI Team Lead

A practical approach to capacity building by

Christopher Potter and Richard Brough


OTHER FEBRUARY ACTIVITIES:

TB NSP development

Support supervision & clinical mentor-

ing

SHLS strategic plan 2014- 2019 devel-

opment

Country operation plan (COP) develop-

ment and target setting

Health Communication Capacity Col-

laborative HC3 strategic meeting

World TB day planning and build up

activities

Hhhoho SID regional on site data vali-

dation.

MOH Directorate update meeting

Leadership Training (lab Project)

Document Control Workshop

University Research CO., LLC (URC) 3rd Floor, North Wing, Building 1

Mbabane Office Park

Sozisa Road

P. O. Box 1404 Mbabane H100, Swaziland

Tel: (+268) 2404 7154/56/69

Fax: (+268) 2404 7199

Website: www.urc-chs.com

URC– SWAZILAND

Who Are We…

University Research CO., LLC (URC) is dedicated to improving the quality of

healthcare, social services and health education worldwide.

Mission

URC’s mission is to provide innovative, evidence– based solutions to

health and social challenges worldwide.

Expertise

In Swaziland, URC expands access to and improves the quality of services ad-

dressing infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, TB, and improving laboratory

quality management system

Approaches

URC focuses on finding ways to deliver proven approaches to health care prob-

lems, applying quality improvement (QI) methods and conducting research and

evaluation to tailor those approaches to various settings. Recognizing implemen-

tation barriers unique to each setting, we train local managers and service provid-

ers to apply QI methods to strengthen health systems, integrate system ele-

ments, and bring improvements to scale. URC also specializes in designing

health messages and materials to educate target audiences about improving

health behaviors.

EDITORIAL TEAM

Jilly B. Motsa

Janet Ongole

Marianne Calnan

Dr Samson Haumba

http://www.urc-chs.com/../../hiv/aids

http://www.urc-chs.com/../../tuberculosis

http://www.urc-chs.com/../../health_communication_and_behavior_change

http://www.urc-chs.com/quality_improvement

http://www.urc-chs.com/quality_improvement

http://www.urc-chs.com/research_and_evaluation

http://www.urc-chs.com/health_systems_strengthening

http://www.urc-chs.com/behavior_change_and_communication_2

urc-swaziland monthly newsletter · improving systems to empower communities the first workshop...

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