Hope amid huge budget cuts: Improving research in Malawi
Kamuzu University of Health Sciences Blantyre campus Library. Photo credit: Felix Chisoni
As a Client Services Librarian at one of Malawi’s leading health research institutions, I constantly address the demand for high-quality, peer-reviewed information to support students, faculty, and researchers. Hardly a week passes without a reference inquiry for research support. My role often involves assisting users with downloading literature or training them on accessing research resources. However, several challenges persist, primarily the prohibitive costs of accessing research papers outside the Research4Life platform and the lack of adequate information search skills among users. These challenges underscore the urgent need for targeted, hands-on training workshops.
Denied access to quality education amid budget cuts
At Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS) in Malawi, the financial barriers to accessing scholarly materials are staggering. On average, a single research paper costs around £30. For a postgraduate student working on a thesis requiring at least 100 papers, the cost would amount to £3,000—well above the tuition for a master’s degree at the institution.
Felix Chisoni
The university enrolls over 3,580 students and has 312 academic staff members dedicated to advancing healthcare education and research. Despite these impressive credentials, KUHeS faces significant challenges. For faculty members, who are required to publish regularly to maintain academic standing, the situation is equally dire. Affording these resources would mean spending an entire monthly salary solely on research articles. Without Research4Life, many would be unable to access the critical information needed to advance their work and remain relevant in academia. The Research4Life program has been a game-changer for Malawian researchers, providing access to an extensive range of academic resources. Without this initiative, the library’s limited funding for electronic resources would make it nearly impossible to meet the institution’s growing information needs.
Using Research4Life to advance evidence synthesis
I was first introduced to Research4Life in 2012 during a training workshop organized by the International Network for Advancing Science and Policy (INASP) in Lilongwe, Malawi. However, I didn’t fully utilize the platform until 2017, when I joined the university as a librarian. As a key point of contact for students at the two campus libraries, I quickly recognized the immense value of Research4Life. My professional growth has been shaped by supporting evidence synthesis projects, an area I became familiar with during my master’s degree at the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. Back then, at KUHeS, postgraduate students were not permitted to undertake evidence synthesis projects such as systematic reviews or scoping reviews. Today, such projects are common and require access to vast amounts of literature from reputable scholarly databases. A standard evidence synthesis project typically requires access to at least three databases. At KUHeS, this is made possible through Research4Life, which provides access to premium biomedical databases like Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and CINAHL. These resources enable me to deliver effective research support. Currently, I am involved in over 10 systematic and scoping reviews, with many more projects anticipated in the future.
Building user capacity
At KUHeS, we are committed to equipping researchers with the skills needed to navigate the ever-evolving world of academic resources. Despite an insufficient number of staff to meet the increasing demand for literature searches, we consistently offer group training workshops, both in-person and online, to bridge this gap.
Library at Mangochi campus. Photo credit: Felix Chisoni
Thanks to the improving internet connectivity in Malawi, online workshops have significantly reduced the reliance on in-person sessions, enabling us to cater to off-campus and distance learners. These workshops focus on a range of topics, from navigating Research4Life resources to developing advanced literature search strategies. Participants include both students and faculty, with sessions tailored to their specific needs or conducted in mixed groups to foster collaborative learning. Although there is still much work to be done, I am confident that, together with my colleagues, we can empower the majority of researchers to conduct high-quality literature searches to support their academic and professional pursuits.
Feedback and continuous improvement
We continually seek feedback to improve our workshops and address the evolving needs of our participants. Overall, there has been satisfaction with our efforts as slowly, many researchers are becoming knowledgeable in accessing Research4Life resources. Below are some examples of valuable suggestions from past sessions: “Presentation on how to identify credible journals to publish our work. If you can also organize basic information on data analysis packages, e.g., NVivo, SPSS, not sure if it’s within your scope.” “During the last training, time was a challenge. It was too short.”
Facing the future
Despite our positive strides, challenges remain. A significant fraction of research papers is still inaccessible, even within the Research4Life program. Unlocking these resources would greatly benefit researchers and, ultimately, healthcare in Malawi. Moreover, teaching hospitals in Malawi lack libraries and access to vital research materials. To address this, we aim to secure grants to extend our training workshops to public and private hospitals across the country. These efforts will not only support healthcare professionals in accessing critical information but also contribute to improving healthcare delivery and, consequently, the quality of life for all Malawians.
About the author
Felix Chisoni is a Health Sciences Librarian, trained in Library and Information Science and Health Informatics, currently working at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences in Malawi. His work focuses on teaching and providing research support services, which he is passionate about.
