Post Doctoral Fellow at Strathmore University

Reporting: Prof. Gilbert Kokwaro and Dr. Francis Wafula

Academic Partners:

Prof. Mike English (KEMRI/Wellcome Trust, and Oxford University)
Prof. Gerry McGivern (Warwick Business School)
Prof. Ray Fitzpatrick (Oxford University

Location: The Fellow will work at both the Institute of Healthcare Management, Strathmore University (Nairobi) and with the Health Services Unit, KEMRI-Wellcome Trust (Nairobi).

The Health Services Unit in Nairobi undertakes work on the delivery of hospital services largely in the public sector and with a historical focus on care for sick children and newborn babies.

Improving the quality and safety of care provided requires engagement of multiple professionals and often includes mechanisms for defining best care, monitoring care, using feedback, supervision and mentorship and active roles of leaders and managers as part of a broad framework often summarized as a process of clinical governance.

The scope of clinical governance can also include higher level regulatory processes with powers to sanction individuals or facilities that appear to be ‘failing’.

The landscape and processes of clinical governance that support provision of safe, effective, quality care are however poorly described in many LMIC including Kenya.

This position has been created to begin to examine the structures supporting and processes employed in clinical governance in Kenya with a view to developing longer term work in this area focused especially its possible contribution to improving pediatric and neonatal care in Keya.

Main Duties for the Post Doctoral Fellow Job

Research

• Literature review to define key elements of successful clinical governance programmes in high and middle income countries
• Exploration of literature on theories underlying the process of clinical governance to enable development of conceptual frameworks indicating how it may work to support improvements in quality and safety
• Exploration of current public sector and professional bodies’ structures, policies and procedures guiding the practice of clinical governance in Kenya.
• Exploring in empiric work one example of a clinical governance process commonly used in hospitals – the mortality audit meeting – and how it contributes to improving quality and safety of care

Teaching

• To help develop and deliver short courses and MSc module training introducing qualitative research methods
• To develop specific study modules on governance and accountability in health care for use in academic training and in training of health care managers
• To co-supervise students undertaking MSc level research projects
• To contribute to seminars and symposia that support the academic development of PhD studies in health systems research

Post Doctoral Fellow Job Requirements

• PhD in an area relevant to health systems research (eg. social science, behavioral economics, anthropology, public health) that included use of qualitative research methods (or equivalent research experience spanning 4 years post MPH/MSc with work published in international journals as first author)
• Ability to use NVivo software or equivalent packages and to analyze qualitative data as evidenced by publications
• Understanding of LMIC health systems
• Ability to work independently to review literature, develop study proposals, undertake, analyze and report empiric work

Desirable skills / attributes

• Prior teaching experience including course design, student assessments and supervision of MSc thesis projects
• Understanding of key issues in maternal, newborn and child health
• Demonstrable interest in a career in research
• Demonstrable excellent interpersonal and written communication skills
• Demonstrable excellent organizational skills and prior experience managing more junior research team members
• Ability to ensure timely delivery of results against objectives