Remote Mentorship Using Video Conferencing as an Effective Tool to Strengthen Laboratory Quality Management in Clinical Laboratories: Lessons From Cambodia

Abstract

This program to strengthen laboratory quality management systems in Cambodia demonstrated significant improvements in conformity to ISO 15189 standards in participating laboratories, correlating with laboratory participation time in video conference training activities led by quality improvement mentors over the program implementation period.

Blended Learning Using Peer Mentoring and WhatsApp for Building Capacity of Health Workers for Strengthening Immunization Services in Kenya

“…13 Mentoring has been used widely in health programs to build health worker capacity. It has been used for quality improvement of clinical care, [14][15][16] laboratory services, 17 sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS care, [18][19][20] clinical nutrition, 21 and health research. 22 Evidence on use of mentoring for immunization capacity building of health workers is limited, as immunization training is traditionally classroom based.…”

Key success factors for the implementation of quality management systems in developing countries

“…Most of the studies included in this review were conducted in Africa: Ethiopia ( n = 6), Kenya ( n = 4), Tanzania ( n = 3), Lesotho ( n = 3), Botswana ( n = 2), Nigeria ( n = 2), Cameroon ( n = 2), Mozambique ( n = 2), Rwanda ( n = 1), Zambia ( n = 1), Ghana ( n = 1), Zimbabwe ( n = 1), and Benin ( n = 1). 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 Studies reporting data from the Southeastern Asian countries (Cambodia [ n = 2], Vietnam [ n = 2]), 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 the Caribbean Region ( n = 1), 54 and Armenia ( n = 1) 55 were also included in the analysis (Supplementary Table 1). We found no relevant studies conducted in Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Romania, etc.)…”

“…Managerial and technical laboratory personnel must be conversant with the standard’s requirements and practical applications. 24 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 34 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 54 , 55 Technical personnel should also be aware of the standard’s requirements for technical procedures, 22 , 24 and laboratory management personnel must be familiar with organisational management, leadership, and improvement activities. 26 , 32 , 50 , 51 …”

“…In 27 of the 32 studies included in this review, mentorship was identified as one of the KSFs for executing laboratory service quality improvement projects and receiving accreditation. 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 The mentor’s duty is not only to ensure the QMS implementation by planning and monitoring quality improvement activities 27 , 32 , 40 , 50 and increasing the staff awareness of QMS implementation mechanisms, 27 , 35 , 36 , 40 , 45 , 46 , 50 , 51 , 54 but also to influence the attitude of laboratory managers to advocate and support all quality improvement efforts. 28 , 32 , 33 , 35 , 46 , 51 , 52 , 54 Thus, the implementers may consider mentorship as one of the additional tools of laboratory QMS implementation, especially when dealing with personnel unpreparedness for change and weak leadership.…”

Telementoring initiative for newborn care providers in Kenya, Pakistan and Tanzania

“…It allows providers to connect with remote sites over the internet, improving accessibility and reducing costs, as well as providing up-to-date information, education and mentorship that might otherwise be inaccessible. Telementoring has been used to provide education on eating disorders, HIV care, general paediatric care, ultrasound, surgical care and laboratory quality management [12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. It has been used in both HICs [13] and LMICs [14,19,20].…”