Kavitha Nallathambi*, Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs, Baltimore, United States Bruno Bruno Meessen*, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium Sophie G. Beauvais, The Global Health Delivery Project at Harvard University, Department of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, United States Track: Practice Presentation Topic: Building virtual communities and social networking applications for health professionals Presentation Type: Panel Submission Type: Panel Presentation Building: Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School Room: Auditorium Date: 2012-09-16 09:45 AM – 10:30 AM Last modified: 2012-09-12

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Objectives

Participants will learn how social networks, in particular virtual communities of practice (CoPs), advance global health by increasing knowledge sharing, promoting best practices and policy, fostering collaboration, and therefore reducing duplication of efforts. Particular attention will be dedicated to technological platforms enhancing interactions among experts active in a common domain of practice across several low and middle-income countries.

Participants will learn how to use social network platforms to develop, nurture, and sustain collaborative projects (such as those developed in communities of practice) for their individual and organizational interests and needs. Constraints and opportunities specific to low-income countries settings will be identified and discussed with the audience. Speakers will also review the different technological platforms that they have used, share challenges and lessons learned, and identify possible areas for improvement and solutions. Participants will address the potential for capturing synergies between different knowledge activities where relevant.

Description

This session will address the role of online CoPs in efforts to advance global health policy and practice. CoPs are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning and knowledge sharing in a common domain of interest. CoPs provide an opportunity for public health practitioners to develop a shared repertoire of resources over a sustained period of time. Practitioners can relate experiences, stories, tools, and problem solving methods and examples, highlighting the role of technology in an effort to address the “knowledge to practice” gap and knowledge sharing. This panel will highlight key examples of the use of online CoPs in advancing global health and will also provide participants the opportunity to learn more about the process for developing and sustaining an effective CoP.

The presentations included in this panel are:
• Using Virtual Communities of Practice to Move Forward the Global Reproductive Health Agenda (Kavitha Nallathambi, JHU∙CCP/K4Health Project, USA)
• The experience of Harmonization for Health in Africa Communities of Practice: combining online platforms with face-to-face activities (Bruno Meessen, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium)
• Bridging practice and policy in virtual conferences: The example of the “Strengthening Health Systems: The Role of NGOs” Expert Panel (Sophie G. Beauvais, The Global Health Delivery Project at Harvard University, Department of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, USA)

Policy/Program/Research implications

Data show that online CoPs contribute to advancing global learning and collaboration among international public health professionals by: (1) Quickly convening public health practitioners around the world to share experiences at low cost; (2) Sparking innovative solutions to old problems and contributing to the development and dissemination of evidence-based health information products; and, (3) Enhancing and informing program design and management as well as policy, which improves health programs and outcomes. CoPs also can serve as a venue for disseminating the latest research and guidance on a variety of international public health topics.