Early results of a distance learning paediatric surgery programme in Mozambique.

Introduction: A pre-graduate training programme in paediatric surgery was applied to students in four medical schools of Mozambique. In this paper, we evaluate the early results of the programme. Materials and Methods: A pre-graduate training programme was developed and applied in two stages, theoretical education available at an online platform and a face-to-face session. To evaluate the programme, a diagnostic test was applied to all participants before the face-to-face session and, the same test, was applied again at the end of the session. Results: A total of 236 students participated in the programme. Forty-four per cent had a negative score on the diagnostic test. When the test was repeated, 91.9% had a positive score, and the difference between the scores in both tests reached statistical significance (P < 0.05). The participants who completed the first phase of the programme presented a higher median score in both tests (P < 0.05). Conclusions: : The diagnostic tests allowed us to verify there was an increase in knowledge before and after the face-to-face session. There was also a significant difference between those participants who completed the online phase of the programme and those who did only the face-to-face session, which allows us to conclude that the online teaching programme was effective.

One swallow does not a summer make: Twenty years of challenges and achievements of family medicine in Mozambique.

After 20 years of hard work, family medicine (FM) is flourishing in Mozambique, but the challenges are immense in a context of multiple health needs. This study aimed to describe strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats of the current scenario that can influence the development of FM and primary health care (PHC) in Mozambique. Case study of a series of virtual world-café meetings using the World Health Organization's Operational Framework for primary health care as a theoretical model. There is a young generation of Family Physicians (FPs) eager to improve PHC in Mozambique - a result of the reactivation of the Maputo Residency Programme and the creation of the Mozambican College of FP in 2010. The current Ministry of Health has taken this agenda forward, inviting medical societies (including FM) to jointly design plans to expand training of human resources for healthcare. This plan aims to create new training sites in five different provinces hoping that it will increase the number of FP in remote areas, fixing the unequal distribution of specialists in the country. The small number of FP practicing today and the limited financial resources of the National Government are important threats to this plan. We have many strengths already conquered and the current situation opens an opportunity for the expansion of FM in Mozambique. Hopefully, it will help PHC in our country move from verticalised and selective health programmes towards a more comprehensive, efficient and person-centred care.