RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Family Medicine in Ethiopia: Lessons from a Global Collaboration
JF The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
JO J Am Board Fam Med
FD American Board of Family Medicine
SP 670
OP 677
DO 10.3122/jabfm.2017.05.170086
VO 30
IS 5
A1 Ann Evensen
A1 Dawit Wondimagegn
A1 Daniel Zemenfes Ashebir
A1 Katherine Rouleau
A1 Cynthia Haq
A1 Abbas Ghavam-Rassoul
A1 Praseedha Janakiram
A1 Elizabeth Kvach
A1 Heidi Busse
A1 James Conniff
A1 Brian Cornelson
YR 2017
UL http://www.jabfm.org/content/30/5/670.abstract
AB Background: Building the capacity of local health systems to provide high-quality, self-sustaining medical education and health care is the central purpose for many global health partnerships (GHPs). Since 2001, our global partner consortium collaborated to establish Family Medicine in Ethiopia; the first Ethiopian family physicians graduated in February 2016.Methods: The authors, representing the primary Ethiopian, Canadian, and American partners in the GHP, identified obstacles, accomplishments, opportunities, errors, and observations from the years preceding residency launch and the first 3 years of the residency.Results: Common themes were identified through personal reflection and presented as lessons to guide future GHPs.LESSON 1: Promote Family Medicine as a distinct specialty.LESSON 2: Avoid gaps, conflict, and redundancy in partner priorities and activities.LESSON 3: Building relationships takes time and shared experiences.LESSON 4: Communicate frequently to create opportunities for success.LESSON 5: Engage local leaders to build sustainable, long-lasting programs from the beginning of the partnership.Conclusions: GHPs can benefit individual participants, their organizations, and their communities served. Engaging with numerous partners may also result in challenges—conflicting expectations, misinterpretations, and duplication or gaps in efforts. The lessons discussed in this article may be used to inform GHP planning and interactions to maximize benefits and minimize mishaps.