PI: Dr Andrew Blaikie
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises that interprofessional education (IPE) of health care students is a great way to prepare them to work together as a collaborative health workforce. The University of Rwanda School of Health Sciences delivers a range of undergraduate health professional programmes, but their access to high quality training in eye health is not as good as it could be due to a lack of low-cost equipment and training simulation tools. The School of Medicine has developed award-winning diagnostic and training tools, specifically for health care workers in under-resourced countries, under the Arclight Project with a strong scientific background. It has been shown to be as effective as more expensive traditional tools for red reflex, optic nerve and diabetic retinopathy screening but easier to use. This is despite its small size and ultra-low cost. This study used Arclight IPE training, facilitated by a local interprofessional faculty, as an effective way to train undergraduate nursing, medical, clinical medical officer and ophthalmology clinical officer students in the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Rwanda. It was shown that adopting an IPE approach to eye care training at an undergraduate level promoted collaborative practice and complemented current blindness prevention approaches being implemented in Rwanda. [read more]