Evaluation of an international health partnership to capacity build emergency, trauma and critical care nurse education and practice in Zambia: An experience from the field

Abstract

AimTo evaluate an international health partnership project to capacity build emergency, trauma and critical care nurse education and practice in Zambia.BackgroundZambia continues to face a significant workforce challenge and rising burden of communicable and non‐communicable diseases, compounded by the COVID‐19 pandemic. In response to these, the Zambian Ministry of Health is investing in specialised nurses. Emergency, trauma and critical care nursing education and training were seen as one of the solutions. North–south partnerships have been identified as a force for good to capacity build and develop emerging specialities.Sources of evidenceWe use an evaluative approach, which includes desk research, a rapid literature review and documentary data analysis from published papers, government reports and project documentation. Ethics committee approval was sought and gained in both Zambia and the UK.DiscussionA critical review of the evidence identified three key themes: challenges with changing education and practice, developing Zambian faculty for sustainability and the effect of an international health partnership project on both Zambia and UK. The outcomes from this project are multifaceted; however, the main achievement has been the implementation of emergency, trauma and critical care graduate programmes by the Zambian faculty.ConclusionThis experience from the field outlines the benefits and limitations of a north–south partnership and the importance of transparency, shared ownership and collegiate decisions. It has facilitated knowledge exchange and sharing to capacity build emergency, trauma and critical care nursing.Implications for nursing practiceLessons learned may be applicable to other international nursing partnerships, these include the need for deep understanding of the context and constraints. Also, the importance of focusing on developing long‐term sustainable strategies, based on research, education and practice was noted.Implications for nursing policyThis paper outlines the importance of developing nursing education and practice to address the changing burden of disease in line with Zambian national policy, regional and international standards. Also, the value of international nursing partnerships for national and international nursing agendas was described.