Design and Implementation of Postgraduate Programs in Health in a Resource-Limited Setting in Mozambique (The Lúrio University)

Emília Virgínia Noormahomed; Amélia Mandane; Agnesse Cuambe; Maria Alexandra Rodrigues; Sérgio Noormahomed; Carla Carrilho; Ana Olga Mocumbi; Momade Ali; Pompilio Vintuar; Mamudo Ismail; Carvalho Guilundo; Stephen Bickler; Constance A Benson; Jorge Luis Ferrão; Robert T Schooley

doi:10.2147/AMEP.S291364

Design and Implementation of Postgraduate Programs in Health in a Resource-Limited Setting in Mozambique (The Lúrio University)

Adv Med Educ Pract. 2021 Apr 22:12:399-412. doi: 10.2147/AMEP.S291364. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Emília Virgínia Noormahomed^{1

2

3}, Amélia Mandane⁴, Agnesse Cuambe⁴, Maria Alexandra Rodrigues⁵, Sérgio Noormahomed³, Carla Carrilho⁶, Ana Olga Mocumbi^{3

7}, Momade Ali⁴, Pompilio Vintuar⁴, Mamudo Ismail^{1

6}, Carvalho Guilundo³, Stephen Bickler⁸, Constance A Benson⁹, Jorge Luis Ferrão^{4

10}, Robert T Schooley²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique.
² Department of Medicine, Infectious Disease Division, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
³ Mozambique Institute for Health Education and Research (MIHER), Maputo, Mozambique.
⁴ Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Lúrio University, Nampula, Mozambique.
⁵ Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique.
⁶ Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique.
⁷ Department of Chronic Diseases, National Institute of Health, Maputo, Mozambique.
⁸ Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
⁹ Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.
¹⁰ Office of the Rector, Maputo Pedagogic University, Maputo, Mozambique.

Abstract

Purpose: To describe the strategies used to design and implement three postgraduate programs at Lúrio University (UniLúrio), a resource-limited setting, in northern Mozambique.

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal, descriptive case study from 2011 to 2018 in two phases: 1) needs assessment (2011-2012), 2) implementation strategies (2013-2018), taking into account innovations whenever necessary.

Results: Several obstacles and barriers to the establishment of postgraduate programs were identified. These included a lack of a core curricula aimed at postgraduate programs, shortage of human resources for teaching and mentorship, limited teaching and research infrastructures, limited financial resources, and lack of administrative capacity. With the support of the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI), three Master degree programs were designed and implemented. During the period of 2013-2018, UniLúrio enrolled 202 students, distributed as follows: Master degree in Tropical Medicine and Global Health (55), Master degree in Health Professional Education (99), and Master degree in Nutrition and Food Security (48). Of those, 152 (75.2%) obtained a Postgraduate Diploma as they did not present a master dissertation, 89 (44.0%) obtained their Master degree, 30 (14.8%) dropped out, and 20 (9.9%) are awaiting decision. UniLurio's staff trained a Master's degree or a Postgraduate Diploma in 34 (16.8%) and 15 (7.4%), respectively. Our strategies allowed us to improve research capacity building, and set the basis for long-term sustainability by allowing for the establishment of other postgraduate programs, and offered UniLurio a strong role in its internationalization.

Conclusion: By sharing multiple resources, long-lasting partnerships were established with multiple institutions, and competency-based training and postgraduate studies management were developed. Research and eLearning were leveraged, retention and faculty development was enhanced, and some inequalities within the country were reduced. These strategies and innovations can be applied to other resource-limited settings, allowing the scaleup of health professional's training and research capacity building.

Keywords: MEPI; faculty development; health professionals education; health system strengthening; implementation science; research capacity building.

Abstract

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