9.1 Electronic communication
Another long-term area of collaboration between Michigan State University and the UM-COM has focused on informatics capacity building within Malawi.  In collaboration with Johns Hopkins University’s School of Public Health, faculty members of MSU’s Institute of International Health and College of Osteopathic Medicine (Herbert Whittier, Ph.D., and Mark Notman, Ph.D., respectively) provided hands-on technology training workshops and planning advice during week-long sessions in 1999 and 2000.  Malawian participants included approximately sixty officials, administrators, faculty, researchers, and staff associated with the Malawian Ministry of Health and Population, the University of Malawi College of Medicine, and a number of district hospitals.  Training sessions included the following:  basic computer operations, file management, basic and intermediate word, basic and intermediate Windows, PowerPoint, overview of the Internet, health-related resources on the Web, effective Web searching, incorporating informatics into medical school curricula, informatics and research, and geographic information systems.  Planning activities focused on governance, funding, and administration of informatics development and support for medical education and administration, health research, and health care delivery. 

Outcomes of these sessions include greatly enhanced computer competency among the faculty and staff associated with the UM-COM and the Ministry of Health and Population, the establishment of a functional computer lab on the UM-COM campus, greatly expanded access to computing technologies for UM-COM administrators and faculty, and development of a computer network (including networked services) for the college and the nearby Queen Elizabeth Hospital (which serves as a student training site as well as one of the research hubs).  These developments have been supported by the UM- COM’s collaboration with Mark Bennett, an informatics consultant, who has worked with UM-COM leaders to establish broadband Internet connectivity and provided technical expertise in network development and maintenance. Another outcome is that Anthony Muyepa, UM-COM’s network manager, enrolled in a Master’s program at MSU in computer engineering.  He is expected to complete the program in spring, 2004. 

In 2003, Mark Notman and R. Taylor Scott, D.O., from MSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, participated in planning sessions with leaders from the UM-COM, Malawian-based researchers from a number of U.S. universities, and the Malawian Ministry of Health and Population.  These sessions focused on strategic planning for the establishment of a School of Public Health, enhancing research capacity within Malawi, the use of health informatics in support of research, and strengthening the governance of informatics within the UM-COM.  Outcomes of these meetings included a series of prioritized recommendations concerning next steps for informatics development within the UM-COM to support medical education administration, and research, including curricular development and delivery, training and faculty/staff development, integrating medical information systems, infrastructure, and information technology management and administration.

As a result of the activities briefly outlined above, over the course of the past four years, the UM-COM has basically gone from an institution with no computing infrastructure to one with a robust computerized network, an identified central support unit (on a level with other major departments in the college) with five staff and its own budget.  The UM-COM has the informatics capacity to fully support the project proposed here.

The software interface to be used is ANGEL, a learning management system (sometimes called a course management system) created by Cyber Learning Labs, and customized by MSU. ANGEL has facilities for private email groups, asynchronous web discussions, exchange of word processing and other files, along with other capabilities which will enable secure and reliable communication among project participants and faculty. While at MSU, trainees will attend a workshop in the use of ANGEL. Training for Malawi mentors and other faculty will be provided in Malawi by Mr. Muyepa.
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