FinZamCH – Finnish-Zambian nursing eduacation for better child health
The main objective of the Finnish-Zambia (FinZamCH) collaboration is to develop Paediatrics & child health nursing (PCHN) course and promote nursing education between Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK) in Finland and Cavendish University in Zambia (CUZ).
UNICEF 2024 report indicates that Zambia has 55.6 deaths per 1,000 live births annually, highlighting the ongoing struggle with child mortality in the country. This reaffirms the need to equip nurses with good practice that could help in tackling the problem. Finland has one of the world’s lowest under-five mortality rates, with education playing a pivotal role in this achievement. Renowned for its successful welfare system and quality education, Finland adopts innovative pedagogical approaches, such as active simulation in education, which can be shared with Zambia. The program put emphasis on the roles played by nurses in reducing death among under-fives.
The joint course model in PCHN consists of an online course 5 ECT and a 10-day intensive program (IP) (5 ECT) both in Finland and Zambia offered to bachelor level students in both HEls. The project will include a kick-off event for the teachers involved, development of the online course, development of online/digital/virtual educational materials and writing an article of the project, its results, and implications for the future. The online course will focus on family client centered approach PCHN, the importance of nurses’ education and sustaining interventions that helped to reduce the child mortality rate, and ethical point of view. The IP will include paediatrics and child service development, education in simulation environments, study visits and practical sessions.
The anticipated results of the project are that the students and teachers deepen their understanding of diverse and effective practices within paediatrics and child health nursing, and to develop new, family-centered solutions and services. The teachers will strengthen their competence & proficiency in virtual/digital teaching methodologies in distant mode in an international context. In addition, they will increase their competence in teaching in simulation environments through preparing and piloting cases in collaboration with the teachers at the partner university. The students will gain know-how in simulation and child health family centered service development. The students will strengthen their know-how in encountering pediatric patients with different backgrounds.
A result of the project for both universities will be a well-planned and piloted course on PCHN course which can be integrated into HEls bachelor’s degree programs in the field of PCHN. Both universities will benefit from the partnership in terms of international collaboration as well as development of modern teaching environments (e-learning, e-simulation). Through education of professionals, partner HEls indirectly contribute to the long-term improvement of child mortality in Zambia.
