Power, culture and researcher identity: an ethos of international academic 'north-south' public health research

Health research between lower and middle income countries and higher income countries can lead to important ethical questions at different stages in the research cycle. To date, research in the area focuses primarily on either: micro research ethical issues: incorporating traditional definitions of research ethics such as research ethics reviews processes, informed consent and community engagement. macro research ethical issues: though generally not designated as ‘ethical’ matters, these studies include broader issues of the politics of the research process, from agenda setting to capacity building, to authorship, and how research actors and institutions function and interact. The overall study aim is to undertake a situated ethics analysis of international academic public health research between the global north and the global south, using Zambia as a case study, to develop an understanding of the different ethoses of north-south health research. A situated ethics analysis allows micro and macro research ethics issues to be debated in tandem, and recognises power and culture as being central to international health research. The study focus is on the lens of researchers - both north and south - identifying them as the most important stakeholders in defining, shaping and executing the research study. A situated ethics of health research conceptual framework is developed to analyse the findings. Primary data were collected through in-depth interviews with: Zambian researchers (n=20), Zambian national stakeholders (n=8) and northern researchers who had been involved in public health research collaborations involving Zambia and the global north (n=25). An inductive iterative process of thematic analysis was conducted. Findings were grouped around micro and macro research ethics issues, and the ethics of researcher relationships. Power imbalances and cultural issues emerged as the central key issues. Two heuristic devices were used to analyse the findings according to the situated research ethics framework around power and culture: Bourdieu’s theory of Power and Practice (1977), and a model of cultural competence adapted from Papadopolous & Lees (2002). This thesis has broadened the scope of ethical reflection to encourage the broader ethics of north-south health research. The overall study contribution is that through developing an understanding of the different ethoses of north-south health research, power imbalances may be identified and uncovered, which could ultimately lead to a shared community of partnership, or a shared ethos of partnership. Through transcending the dichotomy of micro and macro research ethics, with macro research ethics issues considered on a par with micro, this will enable an ethos of north-south health research to emerge.</p

Improving breastfeeding support through the implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital and Community Initiatives: a scoping review

Background Improved breastfeeding practices have the potential to save the lives of over 823,000 children under  5 years old globally every year. The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is a global campaign by the World Health  Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund, which promotes best practice to support breastfeeding in  maternity services. The Baby-Friendly Community Initiative (BFCI) grew out of step 10, with a focus on community-based implementation. The aim of this scoping review is to map and examine the evidence relating to the implementation of BFHI and BFCI globally. Methods This scoping review was conducted according to the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping  reviews. Inclusion criteria followed the Population, Concepts, Contexts approach. All articles were screened by two  reviewers, using Covidence software. Data were charted according to: country, study design, setting, study population, BFHI steps, study aim and objectives, description of intervention, summary of results, barriers and enablers  to implementation, evidence gaps, and recommendations. Qualitative and quantitative descriptive analyses were  undertaken. Results A total of 278 articles were included in the review. Patterns identifed were: i) national policy and health  systems: efective and visible national leadership is needed, demonstrated with legislation, funding and policy; ii)  hospital policy is crucial, especially in becoming breastfeeding friendly and neonatal care settings iii) implementation  of specifc steps; iv) the BFCI is implemented in only a few countries and government resources are needed to scale it;  v) health worker breastfeeding knowledge and training needs strengthening to ensure long term changes in practice;  vi) educational programmes for pregnant and postpartum women are essential for sustained exclusive breastfeeding. Evidence gaps include study design issues and need to improve the quality of breastfeeding data and to perform  prevalence and longitudinal studies. Conclusion At a national level, political support for BFHI implementation supports expansion of Baby-Friendly Hospitals. Ongoing quality assurance is essential, as is systematic (re)assessment of BFHI designated hospitals. Baby Friendly  Hospitals should provide breastfeeding support that favours long-term healthcare relationships across the perinatal  period. These results can help to support and further enable the efective implementation of BFHI and BFCI globally </p

Hibridación entre biotipos de arroz maleza y variedades resistentes a imidazolinonas: análisis morfológico y vigor híbrido

Tesis (licenciatura en biología con énfasis en biología molecular y biotecnología)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Básicas::Facultad de Ciencias::Escuela de Biologí

Additional file 5: of Changing times? Gender roles and relationships in maternal, newborn and child health in Malawi

Appendix 5. Focus Group Discussion guide. (DOCX 135 kb

Irish Paediatric Critical Care Audit National Report 2020: including a special chapter on COVID-19 and Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome (PIMS-TS) 2020–2022

The Irish Paediatric Critical Care Audit (IPCCA) collects personal, organisational, and clinical data on all infants and children with a clinically determined need for paediatric critical care. The audit database is provided by the Paediatric Intensive Care Audit Network (PICANet), which aims to support the continual improvement of paediatric intensive care provision throughout the United Kingdom (UK) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI) by providing detailed information on paediatric intensive  care  activity  and  outcomes.  The  quality  of  care  delivered  is  measured  against  the  Paediatric Critical Care Society (PCCS) standards, which cover the entire patient pathway from initial referral to paediatric critical care, specialist transport, and inpatient care.</p