An Exploration of National Policies and Effective Practices for Electronic and Mobile Learning for Nursing and Midwifery Education

Abstract

The shortages in the global nursing and midwifery workforce are undeniable and untenable. In the quest to scale up the production and deployment of nurses and midwives, various entities have undertaken major initiatives to increase access to learning opportunities, reform educational systems, re-align distribution with need, and bolster existing educational resources. The increasing availability of, and demand for, digital learning resources and opportunities (eLearning) as a potential tool for increasing the production of nurses and midwives is an area of growing interest and activity. Using eLearning as a mechanism for nursing and midwifery scale-up is accompanied by both challenges and opportunities. As global connectivity increases, new avenues for digital content access and learning object distribution escalate. Collaboration and knowledge exchange opportunities increase, creating new avenues to educate and train the cadres of nurses and midwives that are needed to support universal care. At the same time, misguided or uninformed eLearning initiatives can divert precious resources from vitally needed health services, and distract governments from the matter at hand. Increasing the quantity of nurses and midwives without a matching commitment to improving quality is a short-sighted solution. Short-term gains may result in long-term losses without strategic planning and deep understanding. As the pressures for digital innovation and workforce scale-up grow, so do the questions. In this regard, requests to the World Health Organization (WHO) for guidance are increasing. The complex interplay between policy, demographic and labour market changes, financing, emerging technologies, and critical nursing and midwifery workforce challenges drives national governments to the WHO. In response to this pattern of requests for assistance in planning investments and initiatives for nursing and midwifery scale-up, the WHO has commissioned this work by the University of Michigan.