The University of Zambia (UNZA) Mentor Training Program is conducted annually to strengthen the mentorship capacity of postgraduate programs for the health professions. This intensive five-session course trains faculty members in the mentorship of students. Established by senior UNZA leaders and US-based collaborators, this program was designed to address gaps in mentorship identified at the institutional level.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStrong cultures of mentorship and research remain underdeveloped at many African universities, threatening future knowledge generation essential for health and development on the continent. To address these challenges, a mentorship program was developed in 2018 at the University of Zambia with an aim to enhance the institutional culture of mentorship and to build institutional capacity through an innovative 'train the trainer' faculty development model. In this study, we documented perceptions of lived experiences related to mentorship culture by following trainers and trainees and their mentees over two years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The health system of Liberia, a low-income country in West Africa, was devastated by a civil war lasting from 1989 to 2003. Gains made in the post-war period were compromised by the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic. The already fragile health system experienced worsening of health indicators, including an estimated 111% increase in the country's maternal mortality rate post-Ebola.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Despite the burden of HIV being highest in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), research expertise and capacity to address scientific questions regarding complications of HIV and ART, especially chronic non-communicable conditions, is limited in the region. The comorbidities prevalent in persons with HIV are mediated through diverse mechanisms, many of which can be context or region-specific and are yet to be elucidated. The phenotype, risk factors, and effective interventions for these conditions may differ between populations and settings, and therefore there is an urgent need for research to help understand these processes and how to best address them in SSA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: Evidence for the effectiveness of return-to-work (RTW) interventions aimed at sickness absence beneficiaries with mental health problems (MHPs) is still relatively sparse and mostly inconclusive. This may in part reflect the varying settings and inconsistent implementations associated with the interventions. The aim of this paper is to identify barriers and facilitators for the implementation of a coordinated and tailored RTW-intervention implemented at three different sites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Mental health problems (MHPs) are increasingly common as reasons for long-term sickness absence. However, the knowledge of how to promote a stable return to work (RTW) after sickness absence due to MHPs is limited. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a multidisciplinary, coordinated and tailored RTW-intervention in terms of stability of RTW, cumulative sickness absence and labour market status after 2 years among sickness absence compensation beneficiaries with MHPs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Sickness absence and exclusion from the labour market due to mental health problems (MHPs) is a growing concern in many countries. Knowledge about effective return-to-work (RTW) intervention models is still limited, but a multidisciplinary, coordinated and tailored approach has shown promising results in the context of musculoskeletal disorders. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of this approach as implemented among sickness absence beneficiaries with MHPs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Interventions to promote return to work (RTW) after sickness absence are often complex, involving numerous stakeholders and thus prone to implementation problems. To understand the outcomes of such interventions, researchers need to look beyond effectiveness data and incorporate systematic process evaluations. This article presents findings from a process evaluation of a coordinated and tailored RTW-intervention for employees with mental health problems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Exposure to deadlines at work is increasing in several countries and may affect health. We aimed to investigate cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between frequency of difficult deadlines at work and sleep quality.
Methods: Study participants were knowledge workers, drawn from a representative sample of Danish employees who responded to a baseline questionnaire in 2006 (n = 363) and a follow-up questionnaire in 2007 (n = 302).