Browsing by Author "Wao, Hesborn"

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    CARTA fellows’ scientific contribution to the African public and population Health Research agenda (2011 to 2018)
    (BMC Public Health, 2020) Igumbor, Jude O.; karimi, Florah K.; Bosire, Edna N.; Basera, Tariro J.; Uwizeye, Dieudonne; Fayehun, Olufunke; Wao, Hesborn; Ajuwon, Ademola; Otukpa, Emmanuel; Conco, Daphney; Gitau, Evelyn; Fonn, Sharon
    Background: Since its inception in 2009, the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) program has focused on strengthening the capacity of nine African universities and four research centres to produce skilled researchers and scholars able to improve public and population health on the continent. This study describes the alignment between CARTA-supported doctoral topics and publications with the priorities articulated by the African public and population health research agenda. Methods: We reviewed the output from CARTA PhD fellows between 2011 and 2018 to establish the volume and scope of the publications, and the degree to which the research focus coincided with the SDGs, World Bank, and African Development Bank research priority areas. We identified nine key priority areas into which the topics were classified. Results: In total, 140 CARTA fellows published 806 articles in peer-reviewed journals over the 8 years up to 2018. All the publications considered in this paper had authors affiliated with African universities, 90% of the publications had an African university first author and 41% of the papers have CARTA fellows as the first author. The publications are available in over 6300 online versions and have been cited in over 5500 other publications. About 69% of the published papers addressed the nine African public and population health research agenda and SDG priority areas. Infectious diseases topped the list of publications (26.8%), followed by the health system and policy research (17.6%), maternal and child health (14.7%), sexual and reproductive health (14.3%). Conclusions: Investments by CARTA in supporting doctoral studies provides fellows with sufficient training and skills to publish their research in fields of public and population health. The number of publications is understandably uneven across Africa’s public and population priority areas. Even while low in number, fellows are publishing in areas such as non-communicable disease, health financing, neglected tropical diseases and environmental health. Violence and injury is perhaps underrepresented. There is need to keep developing research capacity in partner institutions with low research output by training more PhDs in such institutions and by facilitating enabling environments for research
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    Factors associated with research productivity in higher education institutions in Africa: a systematic review [version 2; peer review: 2 approved, 1 approved with reservations]
    (AAS Open Research, 2022) Uwizeye, Dieudonne; Karimi, Florah K.; Thiong'o, Caroline; Syonguvi, Jackline; Ochieng, Vollan; Kiroro, Francis; Gateri, Alex; Khisa, Anne M.; Wao, Hesborn
    Background: There are low levels of research productivity among Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Africa, a situation that is likely to compromise the development agenda of the continent if not addressed. We conducted a systematic literature review to synthesize evidence of the factors associated with research productivity in HEIs in Africa and the researchers’ motives for research. Methods: We identified 838 publications related to research productivity in HEIs in Africa from various databases, from which we included 28 papers for review. The inclusion criteria were that (i) the paper’s primary focus was on factors associated with research productivity, and motivations of doing research among faculty members in Africa; (ii) the setting was the HEIs in Africa; (iii) the type of publication was peer-reviewed papers and book chapters based on primary or secondary data analysis; and (iv) the language was English or French. Essays, opinions, blogs, editorials, reviews, and commentaries were excluded. Results: Most of the studies operationalized research productivity as either journal publications or conference proceedings. Both institutional and individual factors are associated with the level of research productivity in HEIs in Africa. Institutional factors include the availability of research funding, level of institutional networking, and the degree of research collaborations, while individual factors include personal motivation, academic qualifications, and research self efficacy. Conclusions: Deliberate efforts in HEIs in Africa that addressed both individual and institutional barriers to research productivity are promising. This study recommends that the leadership of HEIs in Africa prioritizes the funding of research to enable researchers to contribute to the development agenda of the continent. Moreover, HEIs should build institutional support to research through the provision of research enabling environment, policies and incentives; strengthening of researchers’ capabilities through relevant training courses, mentorship and coaching; and embracing networking and collaboration opportunities.
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    Increasing collaborative research output between early-career healthresearchers in Africa: lessons from the CARTA fellowship program.
    (Global Health Action, 2020) Uwizeye, Dieudonne; Karimi, Florah K.; Otukpa, Emmanuel; Ngware, Moses W.; Wao, Hesborn; Igumbor, Jude Ofuzinim; Fonn, Sharon
    In 2008 nine African Universities and four African research institutions, in partnership withnon-African institutions started the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa(CARTA) to strengthen doctoral training and research capacity on health in Africa. Thisstudy describes particular aspects of the CARTA program that promotes collaborationbetween the PhD fellows in the program, and determines the patterns of collaborativepublications that resulted from the intervention. We reviewed program monitoring andevaluation documents and conducted a bibliometric analysis of 806 peer-reviewed publica-tions by CARTA fellows published between 2011 and 2018. Results indicate that recruitingmultidisciplinary fellows from various institutions, encouraging registration of doctoral-levelfellows outside home institutions, and organizing joint research seminars stimulated colla-borative research on health-related topics. Fellows collaborated among themselves and withnon-CARTA researchers. Fellows co-authored 75 papers (10%) between themselves, of which53 (71%) and 42 (56%) included fellows of different cohorts and different disciplines respec-tively, and 19 (25%) involved fellows of different institutions. CARTA graduates continued topublish with each other after graduating – 11% of the collaborative publications occurredpost-graduation – indicating that the collaborative approach was maintained after exitingfrom the program. However, not all fellows contributed to publishing collaborative papers.The study recommends concerted effort towards enhancing collaborative publicationsamong the CARTA fellows, both doctoral and post-doctoral, which can include holdingresearch exchange forums and collaborative grant-writing workshops