PhD project on Maternal Health in Ethiopia and Tanzania

PhD project on Maternal Health in Ethiopia and Tanzania – VAIGO

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Netherlands Society for Global Health (NSGH)

Netherlands Society for International Surgery (NSIS)

International Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health (ISM&RH)

PhD project on Maternal Health in Ethiopia and Tanzania

At the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Centre for International Health, a PhD-position (100 %) is available for a period of four (4) years or max 4 months after completed the PhD-degree, if this is achieved within a shorter time than four years. The positions include 25 % required duties such as teaching, exam work or supervision, depending on the demands at the department.

The position is part of the project “ Reporting in context: An interdisciplinary initiative to strengthen maternal health services and surveillance in Ethiopia and Tanzania” (MATRISET)  funded by the Research Council of Norway.

The PhD project is a sub-component of the MATRISET project, which is an interdisciplinary initiative that explores institutional reporting routines, legal frameworks and accountability processes in maternal death surveillance in Ethiopia and Tanzania.

The Maternal Death Surveillance and Response System (MDSR) is a major surveillance tool developed by WHO to reduce persistently high global maternal mortality rates. In overburdened health systems substantial underreporting and misclassification of maternal deaths have been documented. This has implications for the knowledge base generated and the relevance of policy initiatives to address weaknesses in maternal health services. The primary objective of the MATRISET project is to improve the quality of maternal mortality reporting and thus strengthen the knowledge base for actions to reduce maternal deaths.

The announced PhD project will focus on maternal deaths that are not registered and reviewed in the MDSR system. It will seek to trace these missing deaths on health facility level and identify the underlying cause of death through verbal autopsies with family members of the deceased women. Central research questions will be:

To explore health workers’ perceptions of their tasks related to maternal death reporting

To detect unreported deaths occurring in maternity ward and in the maternal referral chain

To detect maternal deaths occurring in other wards and classified as a non-maternal death

To identify the causes behind the maternal deaths detected

The project will use a combination of epidemiological and qualitative research methods and will be implemented in close collaboration with senior MATRISET researchers. The study will take place in selected district hospitals and health centres that register deaths in the MDSR system on a routine basis. Empirical data collection and analysis will be followed by a wider analysis of challenges in reporting practices and of measures to improve maternal mortality surveillance systems.

The candidate will be part of a well-established interdisciplinary research group at the Centre for International Health, UiB, and will have a central role in the MATRISET-network with partners from Tanzania, Ethiopia, Norway and the UK. The candidate will be based at the University of Bergen with fieldwork in Tanzania or Ethiopia, and possibilities for longer research visits to other academic institutions in the network and beyond.

Conduct long-term fieldwork in Ethiopia or Tanzania

Analyze, interpret and write up of study findings

Present study findings in academic conferences and health systems- and policy relevant fora, and disseminate results to national and local stake holders

Work in interdisciplinary cross-country teams with scholars from the medical and health sciences, social sciences and law

Complete the organized research training at the Faculty of Medicine, UiB

Submit a PhD thesis including 3 research articles within the period

For more information and application see: https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/222123/phd-position-4-years

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