The African Health Economics and Policy Association (AfHEA), in partnership with the World Health Organization – Regional Office for Africa (WHO-AFRO), is planning to host a practical virtual scientific writing workshop and mentorship programme between April and May 2021. This event is aimed at capacity building for AfHEA’s members, leading up to the forthcoming AfHEA’s scientific conference in March 2022.

The proposed scientific writing workshop and mentorship programme is themed: “Research to support equitable health systems in sub-Saharan Africa”.  The programme’s outputs include (i) mentorship and building the capacity of early to mid-career African researchers in health economics, health policy and health systems, and (ii) a completed scientific journal paper to be submitted for publication in a special issue of a reputable scientific journal to be identified jointly by AfHEA and the WHO-AFRO. The virtual activities, funded by the WHO-AFRO, will run over an extended period to accommodate participants, especially with the current realities created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The capacity building component involves mentorship activities with individual participants paired with established researchers to guide them through writing and completing a publishable research paper.

Participation

Participation in these programmes and activities is through a competitive selection process.  To qualify for participation, applicants are required to submit online an extended abstract that is not less than 800 words and not more than 1200 words via: https://afhea.org/en/events/call-for-eoi by Friday, 26^th  March 2021, 5 pm GMT.  All applicants must demonstrate how they meet the criteria below when submitting their extended abstract.

Applicants must be early- to mid-career researchers (i.e. with less than 10 years from obtaining the highest degree (Masters or a PhD)) based in Africa or are nationals of any country in Africa.  Female applicants are particularly encouraged to apply.

The proposed paper must be related to the theme: Research to support equitable health systems in sub-Saharan Africa.

Language: All submissions must be in English. The proposed outlet will be a journal published in English, but non-English speakers are welcome to submit their abstracts for consideration as long as their research papers are written in English.

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by email by the first week of April, 2021.  Successful applicants will receive detailed information on the processes and procedures for the programme.

The workshop is funded by Hideyo Noguchi African Prize for medical research and medical services.

Below please find some guidelines for the extended abstract.

Theme: Research to support equitable health systems in sub-Saharan Africa

Extended abstract template

(800 – 1,200 words)

Introduction/Background (100-200 words)

• Describe why this research is important
• How does this research contribute to achieving equitable health systems in Africa (or a country in sub-Saharan Africa)?
• What are your research objectives?

Methods (150-200 words)

• Your research should be empirical. However, systematic reviews are also acceptable.
• Describe and justify your research methodology, including the study design (qualitative, quantitative or mixed research is acceptable). If it is a systematic review, provide details on how this review was conducted, including the exclusion and inclusion criteria, how the included papers’ quality was assessed, etc.
• Describe your sampling approach or the existing data (E.g., the Demographic and Health Survey data) used in the research, where applicable.
• Describe the data analysis process and method.
• Where applicable, describe how to interpret your results

Results (150-200 words)

• Provide an overview of your results, interpreting and highlighting significant results.

Discussion (300-500 words)

• Discuss your findings, noting how they relate to previous research.
• Discuss the contributions of your research findings to achieving equitable health systems in the focal country or in sub-Saharan Africa
• What are the limitations of the research?
• What are the key policy recommendations from this research?