CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS

The Center for Learning and Childhood Development-Ghana (CLCD Ghana) invites qualified and self-motivated individuals to apply for Postdoctoral Research Fellowships. CLCD Ghana is a research-based, non-profit organization that seeks to create solutions to promote child survival and advance early childhood development. Our core program areas are neonatal health, early childhood development, and developmental disability. We are supported by eight PhD-level Technical Advisors who jointly oversee our research activities.

We are seeking to hire two postdoctoral fellows to work in the following thematic areas:

Thematic Area 1: Preterm Birth and Skin-to-Skin Care

Project Overview:

Globally, about 20 million infants are born with low birthweight (LBW), and these infants face a myriad of health challenges, including difficulties in regulating body temperature, poor nutritional outcomes, increased vulnerability to infections, and delayed development, placing emotional and financial burdens on families. Kangaroo Care (KC), consisting of continuous skin-to-skin contact, exclusive breastfeeding, and early discharge, is an evidence-based intervention recommended for LBW newborns to improve their survival and healthy development, especially in low-resource settings where the risks of prematurity, neonatal hypothermia, and neonatal mortality are disproportionately high. Despite the effectiveness of KC, widespread scale-up has been slow due to barriers to implementation and adoption. Existing efforts have primarily focused on health systems and policy changes, neglecting the need to support mothers and families in continuing to practice KC at home.

Several sociocultural and economic factors, including lack of essential warmth-related items, cultural norms, stigma, and limited social support, hinder the KC continuation at home. We have developed an intervention grounded in the Information, Motivation, and Behavior (IMB) model to address these challenges. The intervention offers emotional, informational, and motivational peer support to mothers of LBW infants and a kit containing low-cost, locally sourced neonatal care items to facilitate skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding. We will conduct a type II hybrid effectiveness implementation study in Bono and Greater Accra Regions. First, we test the effectiveness of our intervention using an individual randomized controlled trial. We hypothesize that mothers receiving the intervention will be more likely to continue KC at home seven days after discharge than those in the control group receiving the standard of care. Second, we will explore the implementation process, including associated barriers and facilitators to implementation, using mixed methods. The project will span two years and be led by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers, including epidemiologists, social scientists, and implementation science experts. The National Institutes of Health funded the project. Findings from this research will inform the development of effective models for KC implementation and scale-up.

 Eligibility for Thematic Area 1:

· PhD in public health, medical degree (MBChB, MBBS, MD), or related qualification obtained within the last 3 years (candidates completing their PhD by December 2024 are eligible).

· Excellent academic credentials

· Background in epidemiology and neonatal health desired

· Experience with randomized controlled trial is desirable.

· Proficiency in writing and knowledge of Stata or R

· Willingness to travel to intervention sites (Bono Region and Greater Accra)

Duties and Responsibilities for Thematic Area 1:

· Work with the PI to lead study implementation

· Manage a team that includes a research coordinator, research assistants, and interns.

· Support grant applications to build on the success of this project.

· Lead manuscript writing and prepare reports

· Conduct research training seminars for PhD and Master-level students

Duration: 2 years

Eligibility: Ghanaian Citizen or Permanent Resident

Location: Accra, Ghana



Thematic Area 2: Developmental Disability

Project Overview:

Studies show that children with disability are disproportionally affected by poor health and social outcomes. These outcomes are influenced by multiple factors, including barriers to accessing healthcare and rehabilitation services, poverty, lack of social support, stigma, disjointed health services, and inadequate health service infrastructure.

They are also compounded by unpaid care work by women, who provide the bulk of caregiving for children with disability. Inclusive education was promised to foster an era of integration where children with disability receive educational services on par with children with disability and are well supported to achieve their developmental potential. Yet, more children remain unintegrated in schools, and many stay home, worsening caregiver burden.  

CLCD is pursuing three major projects to tackle the challenges that families of children with disabilities face. The first is a peer navigation and support intervention to break down barriers to accessing health care, education, and social services. The project is a randomized controlled trial to gather preliminary data on the efficacy of peer navigation interventions among families of children with disabilities.

The second project focuses on documenting the extent and nature of unpaid care work among families of children with disability and how to solve it using policy. The study has three primary aims. The first involves quantifying the extent of unpaid care work and modeling significant policies (health insurance, inclusive education, respite care, and LEAP) to examine their effect on reducing unpaid care work. The second is organizing stakeholder and media events to galvanize recognition of unpaid care work. The last step is identifying a novel policy approach to solve this issue, with input from families, policy-makers, and advocates.

The third element, nested in our broader intersectoral coalition for early childhood development at sub-national levels, has two main aims. The first aim is to engage stakeholders at selected districts to include children with disability in their strategic and policy plans. The stakeholder engagement includes conducting focus group discussions and other citizen science methods to gather priority issues facing families of children with disability across five locations in Ghana. The second is to explore the impact of intersectoral collaboration on the quality of life of families of children with disability.

Given these projects' broad and interrelated scope, we seek a candidate with a strong interest in and exposure to disability research, advocacy, and policy engagement. The ideal candidate would have a strong quantitative and qualitative background.

Eligibility for Thematic Area 2:

• PhD, medical degree (MBChB, MBBS, MD) or related qualification, with policy and planning experience.

• Excellent academic credentials

• Experience with development disability research required

• Experience with mixed-methods studies, with strong qualitative research background preferred.

• Experience or exposure to stakeholder engagement methodologies preferred.

• Excellent writing skills required.

• Willingness to travel to Northern and Bono Regions of Ghana for a few days at a time required

• Be an early-stage researcher (obtained PhD not more than five years at the time of application)

Duties and Responsibilities for Thematic Area 2:

The candidate will spend their time on project implementation, writing grants, and publishing scientific manuscripts. Specifically, the responsibility will include:

• Work with the PI to  lead the implementation of CLCD’s disability-related project

•  Lead the development of peer navigation materials

• Train and supervise peer navigators to work with families of children with disability

• Organize and lead stakeholder events to raise awareness of unpaid care work

• Analyze both quantitative and qualitative data

• Lead research assistants and interns to collect quality data

• Support grant applications to build on the success of this project.

• Lead manuscript writing that includes quantitative and qualitative results.

• Prepare reports for grant funder

• Occasionally travel to the Northern and Bono Region of Ghana

Duration: 1-2 years

Location: Greater Accra

Eligibility: Ghanaian Citizen or Permanent Resident

Application Requirements

· A completed application form

· A complete academic CV

· A cover letter outlining qualifications for the position.

· A writing sample (e.g. a published manuscript) sent to CLCD-Ghana

· Three references

· Submit all application materials using this link.

· Contact clcdghana@gmail.com with any questions.