Roller-coaster: the challenge of using teaching and learning as opportunity for teacher professional development

Russel Kitau studied the challenges in using teaching and learning as opportunity for teachers' professional development in Papua New Guinea. He found that by using routine teaching and learning approaches he developed higher research skills achieve his own professional development goal and is now supporting his students and lecturers to achieve theirs

Implementing the New Papua New Guinea National Health Gender Policy - some challenges and opportunities

Gender- Based Violence (GBV) is a major issue world-wide. Within last two decadesmany resources were invested into ending it in Papua New Guinea. In 2015, which incidentally coincides with the end of the Millennium Development Goals, PNG must reflect on and learn from the past in striving towards achieving gender equality. The purpose of this paperis to review the new National Health Gender Policy in the context of previous attempts by the governments and development partners to tackle gender inequality and gender violence. The aim was to highlight potential lessons which need to be taken into account to ensure successful implementation of the policy. The study was performed by conducting a summary of previous attempts to implement gender policies and programs in Papua New Guinea since Independence in 1975 was provided. This was followed by a review of the new National Health Gender Policy (2014) to identify challenges and opportunities in implementing the new policy. The opportunity to use evidence-based approach to provide practical guidance to all key stakeholders to translate the new policy into action is highlighted

The public health challenge of dengue fever in Papua New Guinea

Dengue Fever (DF) is a mosquito-borne disease of public health concern in both tropical and subtropical countries, especially influenced by rainfall, temperature and unplanned rapid urbanization [1]. World Health Organization (WHO) member states have reported on average 2.4 million cases of DF annually over the past 5 years [1]. Even with these figures, other data suggests the number of dengue infections could be as high as 390 million annually, of which up to 96 million show clinical manifestation[1]. Global reporting has therefore not been good, and Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of the countries that have not yet reported national DF surveillance data. DF does not feature among the leading burden of diseases reported in PNG’s National Health Plan 2011-2020, and it is not clear whether lack of reliable reporting was the reason. In 2015, DF was reported as being only rarely diagnosed and possibly having a low index of clinical suspicion in PNG. That same report further stated that dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) has not been reported in PNG for over a decade [2]. Three reports of the DF situation in the Western Pacific region from 2010 to 2012 state that there was no DF-specific surveillance in PNG [3-5]. However, DF's presence was verified from case importation to Queensland for which surveillance in Queensland is actively conducted [6]. DF surveillance in PNG is challenged by geographical isolation of its remote, mountainous, coastal, and island sparsely distributed and diverse rural communities [7]. This situation limits access, provision and coverage of health services. These challenges only add to those posed by DF itself, resulting in a paucity of information about its presence in PNG

The public health challenge of dengue fever in Papua New Guinea

Dengue Fever (DF) is a mosquito-borne disease of public health concern in both tropical and subtropical countries, especially influenced by rainfall, temperature and unplanned rapid urbanization [1]. World Health Organization (WHO) member states have reported on average 2.4 million cases of DF annually over the past 5 years [1]. Even with these figures, other data suggests the number of dengue infections could be as high as 390 million annually, of which up to 96 million show clinical manifestation[1]. Global reporting has therefore not been good, and Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of the countries that have not yet reported national DF surveillance data. DF does not feature among the leading burden of diseases reported in PNG’s National Health Plan 2011-2020, and it is not clear whether lack of reliable reporting was the reason. In 2015, DF was reported as being only rarely diagnosed and possibly having a low index of clinical suspicion in PNG. That same report further stated that dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) has not been reported in PNG for over a decade [2]. Three reports of the DF situation in the Western Pacific region from 2010 to 2012 state that there was no DF-specific surveillance in PNG [3-5]. However, DF's presence was verified from case importation to Queensland for which surveillance in Queensland is actively conducted [6]. DF surveillance in PNG is challenged by geographical isolation of its remote, mountainous, coastal, and island sparsely distributed and diverse rural communities [7]. This situation limits access, provision and coverage of health services. These challenges only add to those posed by DF itself, resulting in a paucity of information about its presence in PNG

Effectiveness of the uptake and implementation of an Aboriginal Australian empowerment program in the context of public health training in Papua New Guinea

An initial collaboration between Australian and Papua New Guinea (PNG) researchers established the suitability of the Aboriginal Australian Family Wellbeing empowerment program (FWB) in University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) public health training. This study seeks to determine the effectiveness of program uptake and implementation by the PNG partners. A total of 30 students in the UPNG participated in 40 hours of FWB. Qualitative workshop evaluations were compared with those of the initial study. Quantitative pre and post surveys measured students' initial and subsequent sense of wellbeing in three areas. Local uptake and implementation were effective: UPNG partners from the initial pilot facilitated the FWB program in their own right and achieved similar results. Students found the FWB content and delivery highly relevant and empowering. They reported enhanced capacity to improve their own wellbeing and help others to do the same. Quantitative results showed minor improvements, or deterioration, in reported wellbeing, arguably because post-intervention data were not collected immediately after training but rather at different times. Despite this, the study highlights the need for appropriate and well-tested quantitative measures and dedicated research funding to improve the evidence-base for social health interventions such as FWB in the PNG context

Transferring the Aboriginal Australian Family Wellbeing Empowerment Program from a Papua New Guinea university context to broader community settings: a feasibility study

This study aims to assess the feasibility of transferring the Aboriginal Family Wellbeing empowerment program (FWB) from a Papua New Guinea (PNG) tertiary setting to broader community contexts to address the problem of endemic interpersonal violence and to generate pilot data to inform future community wellbeing interventions in PNG. Levels of wellbeing among a convenience sample of 100 participants recruited from Bereina station, Kairuku- Hiri District and other parts of the National Capital District and Central Province were assessed using a cross-sectional survey with an anonymous self administered questionnaire. Follow-up FWB pilot workshops conducted in Bereina station for participants in the wellbeing survey used standardised FWB workshop evaluation questionnaires to obtain community feedback on the relevance of the program. Up to one in four females and over half of males who completed the survey reported being a victim of actual or threatened violence in the last 12 months. In terms of wellbeing, participants were least satisfied with their standards of living and most satisfied with spirituality. Workshop participants could see that FWB has the potential to address community concerns, including interpersonal violence, as it provides a process for identifying basic community needs and introduces skills to address conflict. The challenges and opportunities involved in sustaining such programs at community levels are highlighted

Preparedness for Practice of Health Professionals in Papua New Guinea: a Cross-sectional Survey of Nurses and Community Health Workers.

Introduction Papua New Guinea (PNG) experiences widespread health inequity and shortage of health professionals, exacerbated by poverty, isolation, gender-based violence and limited infrastructure, transport and accessible services. Nurses and community health workers (CHW) represent 72% of health workforce. However, health professional education programs are outdated and not aligned with national health priorities. We aimed to explore the adequacy of current curricula for nurses and CHWs by examining graduate competencies and preparedness for practice. Methods Cross-sectional study with four cohorts: 1) 130 new nurse graduates, 2) 75 nurses who supervised them, 3) 105 new CHW graduates and 4) 65 CHW supervisors. We surveyed perceptions of recent graduates’ clinical competence and compared graduates’ and supervisors’ ratings using chi-squared analysis. Results Graduates and supervisors differed significantly in perceptions of graduate competency, for both nurses and CHWs. Despite asserting their competence, graduates identified skills gaps and needs for additional learning support after graduation, including national priority areas (pregnancy, maternal-child health, infection control, emergency health management). Conclusion This study among health professionals in PNG, a country with very limited data on human resources for health, found gaps in graduate preparedness for practice, offering insights into skill deficits that should be addressed in upcoming curriculum review