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| Summary |
Explores various ways to increase the relevance of education for health professionals as a strategy for improving the quality of health care and increasing access to services. Noting that the health work-force can account for up to 70% of the recurrent health budget, the report concentrates on innovations in education that can make learning easier and more efficient while also producing graduates equipped with the knowledge and skills most relevant to priority health problems. Particular attention is given to factors that are known to influence the success of two sets of innovations: those dealing with the learning process and those dealing with the relevance of education to community needs and practice.
The report is presented in five sections. The first explains why innovations in the methods and objectives of education are desirable and shows what these changes can be expected to achieve. The second section offers advice on how to evaluate the effects of innovations in the education of health professionals, giving particular attention to recent practical experiences in the use of problem-based and community-based learning. Arguing that educational institutions should have a role in shaping health policy, the third section considers how institutions can work together with communities to identify and solve priority health problems. Readers are also given advice on the development of curricula that address the wider aspects of health, health promotion, and prevention of illness. The remaining sections discuss strategies for change applied to health systems and to educational institutions, and consider a number of organizational and practical issues.
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