Mobile books for nursing and health

Nurses deliver more than 80% of health care in developing countries.  These nurses are often working in remote clinics, with poor or no access to current health care information.

Yet everyday these nurses are called upon to care for people with new diseases, such as HIV/Aids and to treat those suffering from reemerging ones, including TB and malaria.  They must also respond to the full span of a population's normal health care needs - immunization, health promotion, childbirth, care of the injured, the elderly and the dying.

But too often the sources for information these nurses have are dangerously out of date.  The reference materials may not address the new health problems nor have the most recent, best practice information on prevention and treatment.  Even nurse educators may be working from old textbooks, recommending practices that research has now proved to be ineffective and in some cases harmful.

Or, the right information may simply be inaccessible - preciously stored in libraries and other institutions, which often do not have the resources to make it available to nurses working 'in the field'.  Too frequently up-to-date health reference works may be so treasured that they are stored away under lock and key.

The ICN/MSD Mobile Library, housed in a transportable trunk resilient to moisture, insects and hard knocks is dedicated to closing the gap between the desperate need for nursing information and its availability.  This unique initiative will deliver knowledge to the field, providing a key resource and tool for the main health workers in developing countries.