Uplifting Health Education

OVERVIEW:

Mindset Health was launched in 2003 and is a powerful partnership between Mindset Network, the South African National Department of Health and Sentech. Mindset Health aims to deliver uplifting education and promotion on critical health issues, including HIV and AIDS and Tuberculosis (TB) on a mass scale.
Mindset Health targets health care providers1 (HCPs), health workers and the general public by sourcing and creating suitable digital health educational content in different media formats and in several languages. This health content is delivered into the users’ immediate environments, including public hospitals and clinics through satellite broadcast, satellite, datacast, web, DVDs and others.

1 Health care providers includes health care professionals and health workers with a focus on the different cadres of
nurses and lay health workers and counselors.

AIMS:

Mindset Health aims to educate health care providers and the general public in order to:

Facilitate a systemic, supportive environment which supports positive health behaviour change
Increase the success of government/public prevention, care, management and treatment programmes of HIV and AIDS and other major diseases. Success relates to both increased uptake of health services by patients and improved health service delivery by health care providers
Address inequalities in public and professional education in health and communication by using technology

OBJECTIVES:

Outcomes for HCPs:

Increased competence (knowledge, skills and values) to manage HIV and AIDS, TB and other diseases and conditions
Increased positive attitudes toward patients
Increased motivation towards their work with patients
Improvement in knowledge and usage of IT (Information Technology) and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) to access health education and information

Outcomes for the Public/Patients:

Increased knowledge about HIV and AIDS, TB and other health issues

Increased positive attitudes and sensitivity toward people living with HIV and AIDS, TB or those experiencing other health issues

Increased motivation to take up public health services such as Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) and to adhere to health programmes

Reduction in negative/high risk health behavior

CONTENT:

Mindset Health has two content offerings, each aimed at specific audiences.

Content targeted towards HCPs - from lay counsellors to professional nurses, largely produced by Mindset. We have an HIV and AIDS curriculum for adults and children, content on Infection Prevention and Control, numerous videotaped national and international conference presentations, documentaries and magazine shows.
Content aimed at patients and people who attend public clinics and hospitals or who access Mindset content through other avenues - mostly sourced from content partners. Consists of dramas, documentaries, interviews and discussions as well as public service announcements covering a wide range of health related topics.

All content produced by Mindset is extensively peer reviewed by experts in the field and is aligned to the South African National Department of Health’s policies and guidelines. This is to ensure that the content is not only accurate and up-to-date, but also relevant to the South African context and circumstances.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Mindset Health, supported by the Department of Health and the Foundation for Professional Development, has developed a course on The Fundamental Management of HIV and AIDS for health care providers and health workers.

The course:

Is aligned with the National Department of Health’s guidelines for HIV and AIDS management as well as the principles for Outcomes-based education (OBE) and e-education of the National Department of Education.
Has been integrated in the pre-service education at nursing schools and is used for continuous professional development in health service establishments.
Will be delivered via an electronic learner management system (LMS) which will assist learners from initial registration to final certification.
is also being aligned South African Qualifications Authority.

OUTREACH

Outreach is an innovative programme designed to aid Health Workers, including Health Promoters, Lay Counsellors, Community Health Workers and Peer Educators.

The Outreach programme:

Provides training in facilitating the Mindset Health Channel video content during formal and informal training discussions.
Focuses on in-clinic facilitation as well as facilitation in other community settings.
Is used by health care workers as a means to catalyze a discussion around a specific topic or issue.
Can be a stand alone programme or integrated into existing training interventions.
Generally focuses on existing health-focused organisations and at this time with organisations funded by PEPFAR and Global Fund, in order to both avoid duplication and encourage partnerships as well as the sharing of resources.
Contains content sourced from various organisations covering Treatment Literacy, Gender and other Health related areas.
Also has a relationship with Community Health Media Trust (CHMT) as they deploy Treatment Literacy & Prevention Practitioners (TLPPs) in clinics and hospitals.