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

Emília Virgínia Noormahomed,1– 3 Amélia Mandane,4 Agnesse Cuambe,4 Maria Alexandra Rodrigues,5 Sérgio Noormahomed,3 Carla Carrilho,6 Ana Olga Mocumbi,3,7 Momade Ali,4 Pompilio Vintuar,4 Mamudo Ismail,1,6 Carvalho Guilundo,3 Stephen Bickler,8 Constance A Benson,9 Jorge Luis Ferrão,4,10 Robert T Schooley2 1Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique; 2Department of Medicine, Infectious Disease Division, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA; 3Mozambique Institute for Health Education and Research (MIHER), Maputo, Mozambique; 4Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Lúrio University, Nampula, Mozambique; 5Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique; 6Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique; 7Department of Chronic Diseases, National Institute of Health, Maputo, Mozambique; 8Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA; 9Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California, USA; 10Office of the Rector, Maputo Pedagogic University, Maputo, MozambiqueCorrespondence: Emília Virgínia NoormahomedFaculty of Medicine, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Av. Salvador Allende 702, Maputo, MozambiqueTel +258 82 8810907Email enoormahomed@gmail.comPurpose: 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: faculty development, health professionals education, health system strengthening, research capacity building, implementation science, MEPI