News and Stories
PEN-Plus Spurs Specialized Higher Education Programs
Advanced training for care providers has been a pillar of PEN-Plus from the start. Now two African universities are building that training into higher education: The University of Rwanda is preparing to launch a nursing master’s degree in noncommunicable disease management, while Kampala International University is exploring a program in cardiology training.
With PEN-Plus Mentoring, a Tanzanian Doctor Helps Patients Reclaim Their Lives
Once a month, specialists travel to Kondoa District Hospital in central Tanzania to see patients alongside Dr. John Reuben. For Dr. Reuben, the hospital’s district coordinator for noncommunicable diseases, those visits have become an essential hands-on education for treating patients with more complex conditions. “There were certain tests I couldn’t perform at my level,” he said. “The specialists have taught me how to treat these patients more effectively.”
Research Sought on PEN-Plus in Africa
Preparations are in full swing for the Third International Conference on PEN-Plus in Africa, slated for June 23–25 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The conference will celebrate the accelerating momentum of the PEN-Plus movement and highlight the latest research, for which the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa has issued a call for abstracts.
Master Training Program Builds Momentum in Malawi
A recent training session showed that skills such as mentoring, proficiency in giving effective feedback, and being able to assess patient experiences accurately can be as vital to quality care as medical equipment and resources.
Clinicians and Peer Educators Share Tools for Diabetes Self-Management
A peer education event in May brought clinicians and community advocates from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Uganda together for training on type 1 diabetes management and symptoms, leadership, and…building towers out of spaghetti.
Creating a Training “Echo”
A recent intensive teaching course aimed to turn care providers already proficient in echocardiography into master trainers. Held in Kenya, the weeklong session included care providers from five countries.
WHO AFRO Publishes Landmark PEN-Plus Report
The WHO Regional Office for Africa recently published a landmark report that details the impact and momentum of the PEN-Plus model, providing a valuable tool for advocacy and information about integrated care for people living with severe, chronic noncommunicable diseases.
Training the Warrior Trainers
Two NCDI Poverty Network physicians lent their expertise during a recent diabetes training workshop that the Sonia Nabeta Foundation hosted in Uganda.
Network Cohosts National Cardiac Technical Working Group
In May, the NCDI Poverty Network, in partnership with the Rwanda Ministry of Health and with support from Team Heart, launched a national Cardiac Technical Working Group.
PEN-Plus Providers in Zimbabwe Receive Cardiac Training
In May, eight PEN-Plus providers in Zimbabwe received initial training in performing and interpreting echocardiograms. Those eight providers—along with seven others—were also trained in managing heart failure.
Rwanda Makes Strides in Cardiac Care Capacity
This spring, the Ministry of Health of Rwanda offered two weeks of practical training for 24 nurses and doctors from a dozen PEN-Plus district hospitals. The training—provided in partnership with the Network, Team Heart, and Partners In Health Rwanda—focused on the skills needed to diagnose and treat heart failure in rural district hospitals.
Clinical Training Helps Mozambique Prepares to Open First PEN-Plus Clinic
As Mozambique prepares to open its first PEN-Plus clinic in Nhamatanda, NCDI Poverty Network Co-Chair Dr. Ana Mocumbi, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane Chair of Medicine Dr. Sam Patel, and Network PEN-Plus Regional Technical Advisor Dr. Jorge Sixpence led training sessions for four days in December. Twenty five healthcare professionals including physicians, general medicine technicians, nutritionists, and data managers attended the training.
Master Trainer Leads Echocardiography Training for PEN-Plus Providers in Malawi
As part of Malawi’s efforts to scale up PEN-Plus nationally, clinical officers and nurses from two expansion sites in Salima and Karonga recently completed two weeks of echocardiography training at the PEN-Plus training site and clinics established in Neno by the Ministry of Health and Partners In Health Malawi.
Rwanda Pilots Heart Failure Training Model to Facilitate PEN-Plus Scale-Up
A training model that combines in-person classroom instruction with a digital, e-learning platform has been successfully piloted in Rwanda to train PEN-Plus nurses and physicians in the knowledge, skills, and competencies to diagnose and treat heart failure.