Dataset Information

Building Career Development Skills for Researchers: A Qualitative Study Across Four African Countries.

ABSTRACT: Background:Career development skills are widely advocated as part of research capacity building and strengthening efforts. However, there is a gap in knowledge on their acceptability in low- and middle-income countries. Objective:This study aimed to examine how a group of 16 early-career researchers in sub-Saharan Africa experienced a career development skills course and how they perceived the utility of the course. Methods:Sixteen early-career researchers registered at universities in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and South Africa took part in the year-long Academic Competencies Series (ACES) course. ACES comprised ten modules covering mentoring skills, work-life balance, career strategy, teamwork, presentation skills, teaching, academic writing, engaging policy makers, grant-writing, and digital media. ACES was delivered through face-to-face workshops and via webinar as part of a broader mental health research capacity-building programme. In-depth interviews following a topic guide were conducted with participants. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using Thematic Analysis. Findings:All ACES participants were interviewed (9 male, 7 female). Participants were PhD students (14) and post-docs (2). The main themes identified throughout the course were 1) Growth, in both personal and professional life; 2) Application of training, often in innovative ways but with notable constraints and obstacles; and 3) Connection with colleagues, where researchers learnt from each other and from experts, building confidence in their new skills. Participants described how face-to-face contact enhanced the perceived quality of their learning experience. Barriers included logistical obstacles to applying training, such as limited resources and being at an early career stage. Conclusions:We found that research career development skills training was highly acceptable for early-career researchers in four African countries, and was perceived as having facilitated their personal and professional growth. Our findings suggest that courses like ACES can be applied successfully and innovatively in low-income settings.

SUBMITTER: Okewole H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7164382 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Building Career Development Skills for Researchers: A Qualitative Study Across Four African Countries.

Okewole Halima H Merritt Christopher C Mangezi Walter W Mutiso Victoria V Jack Helen E HE Eley Thalia C TC Abas Melanie M

Annals of global health 20200413 1

<h4>Background</h4>Career development skills are widely advocated as part of research capacity building and strengthening efforts. However, there is a gap in knowledge on their acceptability in low- and middle-income countries.<h4>Objective</h4>This study aimed to examine how a group of 16 early-career researchers in sub-Saharan Africa experienced a career development skills course and how they perceived the utility of the course.<h4>Methods</h4>Sixteen early-career researchers registered at uni ...[more]

PMID: 32322538

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundFunded grant proposals provide biomedical researchers with the resources needed to build their research programs, support trainees, and advance public health. Studies using National Institutes of Health (NIH) data have found that investigators from underrepresented groups in the biomedical workforce are awarded NIH research grants at disproportionately lower rates. Grant writing training initiatives are available, but there is a dearth of rigorous research to determine the effectiveness of such interventions and to discern their essential features.MethodsThis 2 × 2, unblinded, group-randomized study compares the effectiveness of variations of an NIH-focused, grant writing, group coaching intervention for biomedical postdoctoral fellows and early-career faculty. The key study outcomes are proposal submission rates and funding rates. Participants, drawn from across the United States, are enrolled as dyads with a self-selected scientific advisor in their content area, then placed into coaching groups led by senior NIH-funded investigators who are trained in the intervention's coaching practices. Target enrollment is 72 coaching groups of 4-5 dyads each. Groups are randomized to one of four intervention arms that differ on two factors: [1] duration of coaching support (regular dose = 5 months of group coaching, versus extended dose = regular dose plus an additional 18 months of one-on-one coaching); and [2] mode of engaging scientific advisors with the regular dose group coaching process (unstructured versus structured engagement). Intervention variations were informed by programs previously offered by the NIH National Research Mentoring Network. Participant data are collected via written surveys (baseline and 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after start of the regular dose) and semi-structured interviews (end of regular dose and 24 months). Quantitative analyses will be intention-to-treat, using a 2-sided test of equality of the effects of each factor. An inductive, constant comparison analysis of interview transcripts will be used to identify contextual factors -- associated with individual participants, their engagement with the coaching intervention, and their institutional setting - that influence intervention effectiveness.DiscussionResults of this study will provide an empirical basis for a readily translatable coaching approach to supporting the essential grant writing activities of faculty, fellows, and other research trainees, including those from underrepresented groups.

Project description:Various investments could help countries deliver on the universal health coverage (UHC) goals set by the global community; community health is a pillar of many national strategies towards UHC. Yet despite resource mobilization towards this end, little is known about the potential costs and value of these investments, as well as how evidence on the same would be used in related decisions. This qualitative study was conducted to understand the use of evidence in policy and financing decisions for large-scale community health programmes in low- and middle-income countries. Through key informant interviews with 43 respondents in countries with community health embedded in national UHC strategies (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique) and at global institutions, we investigated evidence use in community health financing and policy decision-making, as well as evidentiary needs related to community health data for decision-making. We found that evidence use is limited at all levels, in part due to a perceived lack of high-quality, relevant evidence. This perception stems from two main areas: first, desire for local evidence that reflects the context, and second, much existing economic evidence does not deal with what decision-makers value when it comes to community health systems-i.e. coverage and (to a lesser extent) quality. Beyond the evidence gap, there is limited capacity to assess and use the evidence. Elected officials also face political challenges to disinvestment as well as structural obstacles to evidence use, including the outsized influence of donor priorities. Evaluation data must to speak to decision-maker interests and constraints more directly, alongside financiers of community health providing explicit guidance and support on the role of evidence use in decision-making, empowering national decision-makers. Improved data quality, increased relevance of evidence and capacity for evidence use can drive improved efficiency of financing and evidence-based policymaking.

Project description:BackgroundYolngu or Yolŋu are a group of indigenous Australian people inhabiting north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. Recent government policy addressing disparities in outcomes between Indigenous and other children in Australia has resulted in the rapid introduction of early childhood interventions in remote Aboriginal communities. This is despite minimal research into their appropriateness or effectiveness for these contexts.ObjectiveThis research aims to privilege Aboriginal early childhood knowledge, priorities and practices and to strengthen the evidence base for culturally responsive and relevant assessment processes and support that distinguishes "difference" from "deficit" to facilitate optimal child development.MethodsThis collaborative qualitative research employs video ethnography, participant observation and in-depth interviews, involving Aboriginal families and researchers in design, implementation, interpretation and dissemination using a locally developed, culturally responsive research approach. Longitudinal case studies are being conducted with 6 families over 5 years and emerging findings are being explored with a further 50 families and key community informants. Data from all sources are analyzed inductively using a collaborative and iterative process. The study findings, grounded in an in-depth understanding of the cultural context of the study but with relevance to policy and practice more widely, are informing the development of a Web-based educational resource and targeted knowledge exchange activities.ResultsThis paper focuses only on the research approach used in this project. The findings will be reported in detail in future publications. In response to community concerns about lack of recognition of Aboriginal early childhood strengths, priorities and knowledge, this collaborative community-driven project strengthens the evidence base for developing culturally responsive and relevant early childhood services and assessment processes to support optimal child development. The study findings are guiding the development of a Web-based educational resource for staff working with Aboriginal communities and families in the field of early child development. This website will also function as a community-developed tool for strengthening and maintaining Aboriginal knowledge and practice related to child development and child rearing. It will be widely accessible to community members through a range of platforms (eg, mobile phones and tablets) and will provide a model for other cultural contexts.ConclusionsThis project will facilitate wider recognition and reflection of cultural knowledge and practice in early childhood programs and policies and will support strengthening and maintenance of cultural knowledge. The culturally responsive and highly collaborative approach to community-based research on which this project is based will also inform future research through sharing knowledge about the research process as well as research findings.

Project description:BackgroundSuperwoman refers to the identity of a woman who performs several important roles simultaneously and full-time, such as being a wife, mother, and homemaker while holding a job. This study aims to examine the career experiences of Iranian superwomen who maintained their mental health while holding multiple roles.MethodsData for this qualitative study were collected via semi-structured interview and analyzed using conventional content analysis. The study participants were 12 multi-role women from different occupations in Tabriz, North West of Iran selected through purposive and theoretical sampling. The women's mental health status was assessed using Mental Health Continuum-Short Form questionnaire before participating in the research.ResultsThe results were classified into three main categories. The first category included Underlying Factors of Job Experience with six subcategories, including Limited job opportunities for women, Educational context (mindset shaped in the parental home), Commitment or freedom in obtaining a job and its continuation, Personality traits, and Non-cognitive skills (emotional intelligence and spiritual intelligence); the second category included the adopted strategies to solve career problems with two subcategories: effective strategies, including the benefits of having a mindset of abundance and having a vision and strategic planning, and ineffective strategies, including the benefits of having a mindset of scarcity; and the third category included Perceived Consequences of employment with two subcategories: psychological consequences and social consequences, with both subcategories including some positive and negative further subcategories. Moreover, a conceptual relationship between the main categories and the subcategories was evident.ConclusionsThe content obtained not only supports the findings about the experiences of multi-role women in cultures outside Iran, but also points to the unique aspects of Iranian superwomen's life experiences and narratives. The findings of this study can help us perceive the real career experiences from the perspective of Iranian professional women with multiple roles.

Project description:ObjectivesTo explore the roles of community cadres in improving access to and retention in care for PMTCT (prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV) services in the context of PMTCT Option B+ treatment?scale-up in high burden low-income and lower-middle income countries.Design/methodsQualitative rapid appraisal study design using semistructured in-depth interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) between 8 June and 31 July 2015.Setting and participantsInterviews were conducted in the offices of Ministry of Health Staff, Implementing partners, district offices and health facility sites across four low-income and lower-middle income countries: Cote D'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi and Uganda. A range of individual interviews and FGDs with key stakeholders including Ministry of Health employees, Implementation partners, district management teams, facility-based health workers and community cadres. A total number of 18, 28, 31 and 83 individual interviews were conducted in Malawi, Cote d'Ivoire, DRC and Uganda, respectively. A total number of 15, 9, 10 and 16 mixed gender FGDs were undertaken in Malawi, Cote d'Ivoire, DRC and Uganda, respectively.ResultsCommunity cadres either operated solely in the community, worked from health centres or in combination and their mandates were PMTCT-specific or included general HIV support and other health issues. Community cadres included volunteers, those supported by implementing partners or employed directly by the Ministry of Health. Their complimentary roles along the continuum of HIV care and treatment include demand creation, household mapping of pregnant and lactating women, linkage to care, infant follow-up and adherence and retention support.ConclusionsCommunity cadres provide an integral link between communities and health facilities, supporting overstretched health workers in HIV client support and follow-up. However, their role in health systems is neither standardised nor systematic and there is an urgent need to invest in the standardisation of and support to community cadres to maximise potential health impacts.

Project description:IntroductionAs part of the Harbnger-2 project, this study aimed to discover the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on junior researchers' work-life, career prospects, research and publishing practices and networking.MethodsAn online international survey of 800 early career researchers (ECRs) was conducted in 2022. A questionnaire was developed based on three rounds of interviews and distributed using multiple channels including publishers, social media, and direct email to ECRs.ResultsThe impact of the pandemic on career prospects, morale, job security, productivity, ability to network and collaborate, and quality and speed of peer review has on the whole been more negative than positive. A quarter of ECRs shifted their research focus to pandemic-related topics and half of those who did, benefited largely due to increased productivity and impact. The majority worked remotely/from home and more than two-thirds of those who did so benefitted from it. While virtual or hybrid conferences have been embraced by the majority of ECRs, around a third still preferred face-to-face only conferences. The use of library online platforms, Sci-Hub, ResearchGate, Google Scholar and smartphone to search and access full-text papers increased. ECRs prioritised journals with fast submission procedures for the publishing of their papers and spent more time on increasing the visibility of their research. Fees were a problem for publishing open access.ConclusionAlthough, generally, the pandemic negatively impacted many aspects of ECRs' work-life, certain research areas and individuals benefited from being more appreciated and valued, and, in some cases, resulted in increased resources, better productivity and greater impact. Changes, such as the use of digital technologies and remote working created new opportunities for some ECRs. While continuing work flexibility and hybrid conferences might benefit some ECRs, institutions should also take measures to help those ECRs whose career and productivity have been adversely impacted.

Dataset Information

Building Career Development Skills for Researchers: A Qualitative Study Across Four African Countries.

Publications

Building Career Development Skills for Researchers: A Qualitative Study Across Four African Countries.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets