27 research outputs found
A participatory action research approach to strengthening health managers’ capacity at district level in Eastern Uganda
BACKGROUND: Many approaches to improving health managers’ capacity in poor countries, particularly those pursued
by external agencies, employ non-participatory approaches and often seek to circumvent (rather than strengthen)
weak public management structures. This limits opportunities for strengthening local health managers’ capacity,
improving resource utilisation and enhancing service delivery. This study explored the contribution of a participatory
action research approach to strengthening health managers’ capacity in Eastern Uganda.
METHODS: This was a qualitative study that used open-ended key informant interviews, combined with review of
meeting minutes and observations to collect data. Both inductive and deductive thematic analysis was undertaken.
The Competing Values Framework of organisational management functions guided the deductive process of analysis
and the interpretation of the findings. The framework builds on four earlier models of management and regards them
as complementary rather than conflicting, and identifies four managers’ capacities (collaborate, create, compete and
control) by categorising them along two axes, one contrasting flexibility versus control and the other internal versus
external organisational focus.
RESULTS: The findings indicate that the participatory action research approach enhanced health managers’ capacity to
collaborate with others, be creative, attain goals and review progress. The enablers included expanded interaction spaces,
encouragement of flexibility, empowerment of local managers, and the promotion of reflection and accountability. Tension
and conflict across different management functions was apparent; for example, while there was a need to collaborate,
maintaining control over processes was also needed. These tensions meant that managers needed to learn to
simultaneously draw upon and use different capacities as reflected by the Competing Values Framework in
order to maximise their effectiveness.
CONCLUSIONS: Improved health manager capacity is essential if sustained improvements in health outcomes in lowincome
countries are to be attained. The expansion of interaction spaces, encouragement of flexibility, empowerment of
local managers, and the promotion of reflection and accountability were the key means by which participatory action
research strengthened health managers’ capacity. The participatory approach to implementation therefore
created opportunities to strengthen health managers’ capacity
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Meditation, stress processes, and telomere biology
Both theoretical and empirical work support the notion that meditation training can improve telomere regulation, which may ultimately contribute to healthy aging. Yet, the psychological and biological mechanisms underlying these changes remain underspecified, as do the contexts and boundary conditions in which these changes occur. Here we summarize studies investigating the effects of various meditation-based interventions on telomere biology, making suggestions for future research. We then propose a model describing how meditation training may impact acute and habitual stress responses as pathways to improved cell aging
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Residential meditation retreats: their role in contemplative practice and significance for psychological research
Contemporary investigations of mindfulness and meditation have predominately emphasized the short-term effects of brief inductions or standardized, multi-week interventions in people with little to no prior meditation experience. Considerably less is known about the effects of continued or intensive meditation practice as proficiency and expertise are acquired over time. In this article, we describe the form and function of residential retreats, an understudied class of meditation intervention that holds promise for bridging this gap in the empirical literature. We outline a number of design features that distinguish retreats from other meditation-based interventions, and highlight their utility for informing functional and developmental perspectives on meditation, cognition, health, and well-being
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BDNF predicts retreat-related increases in telomere length in experienced meditators
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Corrigendum to “Insight meditation and telomere biology: The effects of intensive retreat and the moderating role of personality” [Brain Behav. Immun. 70 (2018) 233–245]
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Titi Monkeys as a Novel Non-Human Primate Model for the Neurobiology of Pair Bonding.
It is now widely recognized that social bonds are critical to human health and well-being. One of the most important social bonds is the attachment relationship between two adults, known as the pair bond. The pair bond involves many characteristics that are inextricably linked to quality of health, including providing a secure psychological base and acting as a social buffer against stress. The majority of our knowledge about the neurobiology of pair bonding comes from studies of a socially monogamous rodent, the prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster), and from human imaging studies, which inherently lack control. Here, we first review what is known of the neurobiology of pair bonding from humans and prairie voles. We then present a summary of the studies we have conducted in titi monkeys (Callicebus cupreus)-a species of socially monogamous New World primates. Finally, we construct a neural model based on the location of neuropeptide receptors in the titi monkey brain, as well as the location of neural changes in our imaging studies, with some basic assumptions based on the prairie vole model. In this model, we emphasize the role of visual mating stimuli as well as contributions of the dopaminergic reward system and a strong role for the lateral septum. This model represents an important step in understanding the neurobiology of social bonds in non-human primates, which will in turn facilitate a better understanding of these mechanisms in humans