[india-drug] Course announcement

["Trudie Gerrits" <G.J.E.Gerrits@uva.nl>]

(Cross posted from Edrug. Thanks?SS)

E-DRUG: Promoting Rational Drug Use Course / Focus on ARVs
----------------------------------------------------------
[highly recommended course in South Africa, 5-17 September 2004; WB]

Dear E-Drug Colleagues,

We want to announce the fourth international training course on
Promoting
Rational Drug Use in the Community (PRDUC)-course, jointly organized by
the
WHO's Department on Essential Drugs and Medcine Policy, the Medical
Anthropology Unit of the University of Amsterdam, and the Royal
Tropical
Institute, Amsterdam.

This years course will be held in Pretoria, South-Africa, 5-17
september
2004, hosted by Medical University South-Africa (MEDUNSA).

Participants will learn practical approaches to investigating and
prioritizing medicines use problems, and how to develop effective
strategies
for change. This year the course will focus on medicines use to
alleviate
the AIDS pandemic. In this highly participatory course attention will
not
only be given to 'traditional' educational approaches in the community,
but
also pay due attention to community support, management and
mobilization,
discuss regulatory strategies (e.g. giving attention to the price-side
of
RDU, and the direct-to-consumer advertising); and to working with
journalists, advocay and networking.

More information you find in the flyer below.
Please forward this message to colleagues and persons/institutions in
your
network for whom this course may be useful!

Best regards,

Trudie Gerrits
Co-ordinator PRDUC course
University of Amsterdam
Netherlands
G.J.E.Gerrits@uva.nl

-------

PROMOTING RATIONAL DRUG USE IN THE COMMUNITY

5-17 September 2004

Medical University of Southern Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

This is a two-week course for health programme staff from ministries of
health, universities, development agencies, nongovernmental and other
organizations, and individuals interested in improving medicines use in
the
community.

OBJECTIVES

This ground breaking course was developed to meet requests from many
individuals and organizations, and to respond to a clear need for more
effective planning, research and implementation of rational medicines
use
activities in the community. The course concentrates on methods to
study
and remedy inappropriate medicines use in the community, including an
essential analysis of what shapes medicines demand. Participants will
learn
practical approaches to investigating and prioritizing medicines use
problems, and how to develop effective strategies for change. It will
focus
on medicines use to alleviate the AIDS pandemic. This will include
studying
why patients do not come forward for treatment and what can be done to
improve adherence.

DESIGN

The course is participatory in nature and uses the knowledge, skills
and
experiences of participants as a major resource throughout. Teaching
methods
include group activities, field work, presentations and discussions.
Participants will spend the two final days preparing a detailed plan of
action to confront an important community drug use problem in their
country
of origin. The course is conducted in English, and given its
interactive
nature participants need a good command of that language to participate
fully. Course materials were developed by WHO and the University of
Amsterdam, in collaboration with colleagues throughout the world.
Participants will thus be exposed to a wide range of international
experience. The course complements and follows a similar approach to
the
international training course on promoting rational drug use held
regularly
by the International Network for Rational Use of Drugs (INRUD) and WHO.

HIGHLIGHTS

§ Factors that shape demand for medicines§ Methods to identify
community
medicines use problems§ How to prioritize problems related to medicines
use§
Moving from research to practice§ Use of different media channels§
Understanding attitudes to AIDS treatment § Face-to-face education§
Pretesting materials§ Advocacy and networking§ Planning and evaluating
interventions § Field exercises to assess medicines use with a
particular
focus on AIDS-related conditions

VENUE

Week 1 will be conducted at a venue in Pretoria, with the second week
in a
country setting.

FEES AND APPLICATION

The fee of US$ 2,950 covers tuition, course materials (including a core
library for participants to take home), shared accommodation and all
meals.
Single rooms are available at an extra cost of approximately US$ 20 per
night payable by participants. The fee for local participants without
accommodation, breakfast or dinner is US$ 1,500. Participants should
plan
to bring sufficient funds (approximately US$ 200) for incidental
expenses
such as laundry, postage, telephone calls, souvenirs, airport tax, etc.
All
travel expenses and health insurance are the responsibility of
participants
or their sponsoring organization.

Application forms are obtainable from the address below or can be
printed
out directly from the EDM web-page at
http://www.who.int/medicines/organization/par/prduc.html. The deadline
for
receipt of applications at the address given below is
16 July 2004. Fees are payable before 13 August 2004.

University of Amsterdam
FMG, Tel: +31 20 5252670
PRDUC Course Fax: +31 20 5253010
Attn. Mrs Annelies Dijkstra E-mail: prduc@pscw.uva.nl
Oudezjids Achterburgwal 185
1012 DK Amsterdam, the Netherlands

COLLABORATING INSTITUTIONS

WHO's Department of Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy (EDM), Geneva
The Department of Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy provides global
guidance and works with countries to develop and implement national
medicines policies and programmes. The aim is to ensure that essential
medicines are accessible to all the population, and that medicines are
safe,
effective and rationally used. EDM also conducts training and research
to
tackle problems in medicines procurement, accessibility, safety and use
that
countries face in a rapidly changing pharmaceutical environment. The
Department has an extensive publications programme including series on
research, health economics and drugs, and interagency guidelines. EDM's
Essential Drugs Monitor, published in English, French, Spanish,
Russian,
Chinese and Arabic, is an important source of information on new
developments and experience.

Medical Anthropology Unit (MAU), University of Amsterdam
The Medical Anthropology Unit, part of the Faculty of Social and
Behavioural
Sciences, has a long tradition in applied and critical social science.
It
collaborates with many national and international academic institutions
and
development organizations. The MAU is known for its action- and
policy-oriented research on the use and distribution of
pharmaceuticals,
gender and reproductive health, and injections and culture, which has
resulted in a steady stream of publications in Dutch and international
journals. Within the Netherlands, the MAU is the sole provider of a
comprehensive master's course in medical anthropology, attended by
social
science and medical students of the University of Amsterdam and other
universities. The Unit also regularly organizes conferences on current
issues in international health.

KIT-HEALTH, Royal Tropical Institute
KIT-HEALTH is part of the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) in Amsterdam,
which
is a diverse and multi-faceted international institute engaged in a
broad
range of activities in the areas of development cooperation and
multicultural exchange. Through institutional cooperation KIT
contributes to
an exchange of skills and knowledge worldwide. KIT-HEALTH staff is made
up
of an international, multidisciplinary team of experts, which includes
specialists in the areas of public health, disease control, health
economics, nutrition, epidemiology, human resource development, drug
policy,
health ecology and social sciences. KIT-HEALTH provides technical
support
and advice in a variety of health and health-related fields through
training
programmes, operational research and short- and long-term
consultancies.
Partners include universities, health care research institutes and
governmental and nongovernmental organizations.

The School of Pharmacy, MEDUNSA will be the host institution. Through
experience gained in more than 20 years of training and project
management,
the School of Pharmacy at MEDUNSA has developed highly efficient
practices
for presenting training programmes and fielding project teams. These
programmes include pharmacy support staff basic and post-basic
training;
information sessions for intern tutors; assistance with national
pharmaceutical infrastructures (evaluation of selection, procurement,
distribution, storage and use of medicines and vaccines); health care
providers, trainers and managers (promoting rational drug use, training
of
trainers, basic pharmacoeconomics, research methodology, National Drug
Policy). The School has worked with a wide range of national and
international organizations.

TRAINERS

Prof. Dr. Anita Hardon is Scientific Director of the Amsterdam School
of
Social Science Research (ASSR) and Head of the Medical Anthropology
Unit,
University of Amsterdam, a medical biologist and medical
anthropologist.
Her doctoral research on the use and distribution of medicines in the
Philippines has been followed by many other published studies on
medicine
use, applied health research, quality of care, and fertility
regulation.
She is author of a WHO manual on how to study drug use in communities
and
leader of an international collaborative study in this field. Her
activities
include running a five-week course on anthropology of health and health
care, and working with consumer organizations on rational drug use and
women
?s health.

Mr Andrew Chetley is the Director of Exchange, a networking and
learning
programme on health communication, that aims to identify and share good
practice. A trained journalist and communications specialist, he has
worked
with a range of NGOs and international organizations in the field of
health,
education and development. He is the author of five books on public
health
issues, including the rational use of drugs, and has experience of
training
health workers and the media in effective communication.

Ms Trudie Gerrits (Course Coordinator) is working at the Medical
Anthropology Unit at the University of Amsterdam. She has a background
in
medical anthropological research and health communication. She has more
than
15 years? experience in medical anthropological research, lecturing and
project coordination.

Ms Ane Haaland is a communications trainer with a background in social
science, journalism and photography. She conducts intervention research
on
training aspects of rational drug use for providers and community
members,
and has developed a number of manuals on the subject. During 15 years
based
in the field in Asia and Africa she has focussed on research and
development
of visual methods to communicate with low-literate audiences, and on
programme implementation and evaluation. She teaches on participatory
learning methods, interpersonal communication and journalism.

Ms Catherine Hodgkin is Head of the Health Department of the Royal
Tropical
Institute in The Netherlands (KIT): a multidisciplinary group of
consultants
and trainers working in the field of health and development. For ten
years
she was international coordinator of Health Action International
(Europe),
an international network of NGOs and public interest groups working to
promote a more rational use of drugs. She has extensive experience in
the
field of drug policy and consumer advocacy, and has contributed to a
variety
of training activities for consumers, health professionals and policy
makers.

Dr Richard Laing is a Medical Officer in WHO's Essential Drugs and
Medicines
Policy Department. He has worked previously as a professor at Boston
University and as a consultant for Management Sciences for Health in
Boston.
In Africa, he worked in the Ministry of Health in Zimbabwe for 18
years. He
has been responsible for developing other WHO supported courses in
Promoting
Rational Drug Use and Drug Policy Issues for Developing and
Transitional
Countries. He has a particular interest in methods of measuring and
changing
medicine use at different levels within a health system.

Prof. Robert S. Summers is the Head of the School of Pharmacy at the
Medical
University of Southern Africa (MEDUNSA). He is known and has been
consulted
provincially, nationally and internationally for his expertise in the
fields
of health and pharmaceutical services management and research. He has
published over 90 research papers, as well as many books and
full-length
research reports. He is well-known for his leadership role in
pharmaceutical education and training.



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