Informatics for Peru in the new millennium

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Informatics
• Health Informatics
• International Collaboration

Background:

• A collaborative biomedical and health informatics training program has been established in Peru to address the digital divide.
• This initiative is a partnership between the University of Washington (Seattle), Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, and Universidad Nacional de San Marcos.

Purpose of the Study:

• To document the activities and outcomes of the first year of the International Research and Training Program in Biomedical and Health Informatics.
• To assess the electronic environment and initiate long-term training for Peruvian scholars.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive analysis of key program activities was performed.
• An assessment of the electronic environment in Peru was conducted using observation and surveys.
• A two-week in-country short course with quantitative evaluation was delivered, and the first cohort of Peruvian scholars was recruited for training in Seattle.

Main Results:

• The short course demonstrated participant learning through pretest/posttest assessments.
• A systematic evaluation of Peru's electronic environment was completed.
• Two Peruvian scholars were enrolled at the University of Washington for long-term training.

Conclusions:

• The initial phase of the collaborative informatics training program has shown significant activity.
• Effective orchestration of efforts among Peruvian stakeholders and integration of informatics skills into large-scale research projects are crucial for success.