AHILA CONFERENCE 2019 - Achieving healthy lives and well-being in Africa through access to and use of information

1. Application of ICTs to support medical education, quality health care and well-being

ICTs have revolutionised our work from MEDLINE to health research management for quality and evidence (organising output, data management, bibliometrics, Open data/Big data) and social media. Papers should contribute to our understanding of how health librarians in Africa have used these technologies and the partnerships established through implementing them. Research and evaluation studies as well as papers describing projects from inception to implementation and evaluation are welcome.

2. The contribution of health literacy to achieving health and well-being

Health literacy is an important public health topic which has grown in importance across the globe in recent years. It is more than just the ability to read and understand health related information; it also includes the motivation, ability and confidence to make informed decisions to help manage and improve health. As such it is highly relevant in the context of health in Sub Saharan Africa involving the whole population, including those who may not be currently in receipt of care. Papers may describe outreach activity projects, in house projects (e.g. in public libraries), case studies or needs assessments. Papers where possible should include a description of how any partnership working was set up and the contribution this made to achievement of the project.

3.  Education and training for health sciences librarianship in the 21st century: is the curriculum addressing the need?

Health science librarians are continually needing to re-tool to meet new needs in constantly changing environments. The emergence of evidence -based policy /practice and systematic reviews has brought into sharp focus the vital contribution expert health information specialists make in the team.  Additionally, the increasing need to demonstrate our value demands new competencies in advocacy; soft skills too are needed to assert our place in an increasingly collaborative work environment.  Papers should contribute to our understanding of education and training for health librarians in Africa. This may include research into the areas below

• How educational institutions, which have traditionally provided undergraduate and graduate courses in librarianship, have responded to specific requirements of work in health information.
• What role practising health librarians have in ensuring the educational infrastructure is fit for purpose in rapidly changing environments.
• What findings and /or recommendations are emerging from current research into the curriculum for health science librarians’ /information specialists.

4. Reaching out to under-served communities to achieve health and well-being in Africa: contribution of health information professionals

Papers should give examples of new and/or innovative projects that have been implemented by health information professionals, to reach out to the hard to reach areas, giving evidence of what was learnt and demonstrating that a specified group of people was reached and supported. This should include evidence of results. New roles undertaken by health information professionals should be highlighted.  We encourage papers reporting projects working collaboratively with other professionals