Background

The Institute of Healthcare Management, Strathmore University Business School, Strathmore University, in collaboration with the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), invites application for four (4) fellowships to be undertaken at Strathmore University.

The PhD research areas cover various aspects of digital innovations and diagnostics for infectious diseases in Africa based on the topics appended hereunder.

  • Two (2) of the selected students will be attached to projects being undertaken directly by Strathmore University, while the
  • other two (2) will be attached to projects being undertaken by APHRC.
  • The students will be registered at Strathmore University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Healthcare Management.

This training opportunity is sponsored by the Digital Innovations and Diagnostics for Infectious Diseases in Africa (DI-DIDA) project, with funding from the European Union Horizon Europe (grant agreement No. 101057251).

Goal of the PhD Training

The focus of the training is capacity building, and the selected candidates will be those who show potential of pursuing independent research careers on completion of their training.

The training program aims to strengthen cohorts of cross-disciplinary PhD students/early-stage researchers by providing an opportunity for early-stage researchers in sub-Saharan African countries to develop their own scientific careers.

Course Units

The programme is a combination of taught units and research.
It has a course loading of six (6) compulsory units undertaken in the first year of study. These may be complemented by elective courses based on individual candidate requirements and focus areas.
The course is taught in a modular format, with students reporting for the face-to-face classes for two weeks every eight to ten weeks.
Passing of the taught courses is compulsory for upgrading from PhD studentship to PhD candidature at the end of the first year.
The degree is awarded based on the completion of a PhD research process, which entails completion of a PhD thesis, oral Défense, and publication of at least three articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Admission Requirements

  1. Holders of a Masters degree in Healthcare Management, Public Health, Health Sciences (Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing) or Health Economics, Health Social Sciences and other related disciplines, with a minimum of three years management and/or research experience.
  2. Holders of a Masters in Business Administration/Management or other management courses from recognized universities, with at least three years management or research experience in a healthcare-related field will be considered;

as will those with other qualifications deemed relevant by the University’s Academic Council.

Funding

The fellowship will cover a monthly stipend, academic-related travel, conference, and networking activity support, as well as research activities.

Application Requirements

Complete and submit the online application form (link below) as well as the below documents.
Application Requirements
  • Short Curriculum vitae
  • Certified copies of your bachelor’s and master’s degree transcripts and certificates
  • Master’s research dissertation/thesis
  • Research concept note (approx. 1500 words).
    This should be based on one (1) of the PhD topics listed in this call. The purpose of the concept note is not to describe what the prospective student intends to do, but to show a general understanding of some of the issues to be addressed in the PhD topic. For example, for Topic 1 (“Assessment of health economics….”) one can develop a concept note on methods for disease prioritization for inclusion in a health benefits package, etc. For Topic 2 (“Determinants of adoption….”)  one can develop a concept note on health systems/legal/ ethical barriers to adoption of new technologies in sub-Saharan Africa, etc.
  • Two reference letters (where possible by someone who taught you or who supervised you at master’s level, or one academic reference and one professional reference)
  • A copy of the national identification document or passport
  • Passport photo

Once a complete application form has been received, the admissions committee reviews it to check eligibility to the programme and at the same time the applicant’s concept note is sent to appropriate faculty members for consideration.

You will be notified at this stage if we are unable to provide supervision for your research area or if your admission to the programme is denied.

PhD Projects

PhD Project 1 (Strathmore University Project):

Assessment of health economics to prioritise which infectious diseases suit multiplexing.

PhD Project 2 (Strathmore  University Project):

Determinants of adoption of diagnostic innovations in sub-Saharan Africa (policy/ regulation and broader ecosystem factors)

Main Supervisor:

Professor Gilbert Kokwaro, Institute of Healthcare Management, Strathmore University Business School, Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya

Co-Supervisor:

Dr Angela Jornada Ben, Amsterdam Institute for Global Health Development (AIGHD), Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Student Matriculation:

Institute of Healthcare Management, Strathmore University Business School, Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya.

Key Research Questions:

  1. Using the health benefits package costings previously performed by in Kenya (2018-2019) as a basis: rating priorities for which diseases best suit a multiplex test from an economic perspective comparing Kenya (update), Tanzania and Uganda. This is anticipated to be mainly review of secondary data, with some South-South visits, to culminate in the development of business models for respective multiplex DI-DIDA tests across project countries, that can attract investors and funding.
  2. Beyond developing business models, the fellow will develop a framework for local institutional and consumer markets. Most Global technologies falter at this stage before scaling. In institutional and consumer markets, manufacturers are often left with insufficient demand to continue supply, while buyers have limited experience with and understanding of the value of the technology. The study will develop a framework that will address these issues.
  3. Later in the programme, economic evaluations will be done of the DI-DIDA multiplex diagnostic(s) in the digital health ecosystem supported by PharmAccess in Kisumu, Kenya.

Candidate suitability for project 1

  • Beside the other generic requirements for the Strathmore PhD Healthcare management program, strong preference will be given to those with health economics training and/or experience/expertise.
  • Final selection will be undertaken by the PhD Committee at the Strathmore Business School
  • Candidate will be required to develop and successfully defend a research proposal internally (within the consortium) before PhD registration is completed

Main supervisor:

Prof Francis Wafula, Institute of Healthcare Management, Strathmore University Business School Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya

Co-Supervisor:

Dr Angela Jornada Ben, Amsterdam Institute for Global Health Development (AIGHD), Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Co-supervisor:

Prof. Frances Mair, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Student Matriculation:

Institute of Healthcare Management, Strathmore University  Business School, Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya.

Key Research Questions:

  1. A study on socio-economic determinants of adoption of health innovations in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on diagnostics and digital innovation, using as case studies, three or more of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal and Reunion. The research will consider different strategies applied in different countries. It is anticipated to entail review of secondary data and South-South visits.
  2. The doctoral fellow will also do case studies on adoption of other Point of Care (POC) (self-) diagnosis technologies e.g., HIV self-testing, pregnancy test, COVID-19 test in one or more DI-DIDA countries.
  3. Study will also cover aspects such as a) Acceptability: a) to patients, b) to service providers, c) to policy makers; b) Access: Where is the technology to be deployed for maximum benefit? What happens when technology is deployed at a lower health system level (say primary healthcare facilities), and management of the diagnosed condition(s) cannot be undertaken at that level? What are the tradeoffs between the patient getting that information at the lower level, and then needs to go to a higher level of care or another site for the management of the condition?
  4. d) A review of regulatory matters around data and of intellectual property issues in one or more DI-DIDA countries. What are ethical consequences of (digital) DI-DIDA interventions in Africa with respect to TIPS: (trust, identity, privacy, security).

Candidate suitability for project 2

  • Beside the other generic requirements for the Strathmore PhD Healthcare management program, strong preference will be given to those with health systems training and/or experience/expertise, and an interest in strengthening broader policy and regulatory ecosystems to promote scaling.
  • Final selection will be undertaken by the PhD Committee at the Strathmore Business School

Candidate will be required to develop and successfully defend a research proposal internally (within the consortium) before PhD registration is completed.

PhD Project 3 (APHRC  Project):

Understanding the socioeconomic criteria and considerations for prioritizing infectious disease diagnostics

PhD  Project 4 (APHRC Project):

Co-creation to understand the sociocultural acceptance of digital innovations and diagnostics in African settings

Main  Supervisor:

Dr. Sylvia Muyingo, The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), Nairobi, Kenya.

Co-Supervisor:

Dr. Joseph Onyango, Institute of Healthcare Management, Strathmore University  Business School, Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya.

Co-Supervisor:

Dr Chris Pell, Amsterdam Institute for Global Health Development (AIGHD), Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Co-Supervisor:

Prof. Frances Mair, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Student Matriculation:

Institute of Healthcare Management, Strathmore University  Business School, Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya.

Key Research Questions:

The PhD will answer key research questions for digital innovations and diagnostics in Africa:

  • What are the key socioeconomic criteria and considerations for prioritizing infectious diseases to be diagnosed through multiplex tests with respect to equity, the potential to avoid catastrophic healthcare expenditures, health human resource requirements, affordability, political support, and (lack of) competition, etc.).
  • What are the sociocultural and socioeconomic consequences of task-shifting as potentially induced by (DI-DIDA) innovations in diagnostics, specifically with respect to rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs)?
  • What role does the private sector (in comparison to the public sector) play when it comes to deploying and using multiplex RDTs?
  • How do DI-DIDA diagnostics fit in the wider health system with respect to the diagnosis and management co-morbidities i.e., how do these diagnostics work in health systems with vertical and horizontal programming? For instance, in situations where HIV patients with other comorbidities seek services in different parts of the healthcare system, can a multiplex diagnostic test be a catalyst for a more integrated patient-centred healthcare system?

The proposed research approach is key informant interviews with researchers and stakeholders in infectious disease management, complemented by literature/systematic review of published and grey literature of evidence on national systems or policies or plans for multiplex tests, what has worked/not worked, and areas for improvement.

 Candidate suitability for project 3

  • Beside the other generic requirements for the Strathmore PhD Healthcare management program, strong preference will be given to those with health systems, public health and economics training and/or experience and expertise.
  • Final selection will be undertaken by the PhD Committee at the Strathmore Business School
  • Candidate will be required to develop and successfully defend a research proposal internally (within the consortium) before PhD registration is completed.

Main  Supervisor:

Dr. Damazo Kadengye, The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), Nairobi, Kenya.

Co-Supervisor:

Dr. Ben Ngoye, Institute of Healthcare Management, Strathmore University  Business School, Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya.

Co-Supervisor:

Dr Chris Pell, Amsterdam Institute for Global Health Development (AIGHD), Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Co-Supervisor:

Prof. Frances Mair, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Student Matriculation:

Institute of Healthcare Management, Strathmore University Business School, Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya.

Key Research Questions:

This PhD project would review other DI-DIDA-supported PhD projects on molecular tests (including multiplex), with a view to understanding and highlighting how these innovations have incorporated user-centredness in their design and implementation.

It is proposed that the PhD research:

  • Starts with a review of pre-prototypes of molecular tests in 1-2 sites in the intermediate pilot phase, provide feedback and review other prototypes in additional DI-DIDA sites.
  • Investigates aspects of sociocultural acceptance of (digital) diagnostics in African settings (in Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda).
  • Conducts a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative research on the social dimension (cultural and economic) of molecular tests, including RDTs.
  • Employs a mixed methods study to investigate the trends in the current use of RDTs in health facilities and for home-based care (e.g. pregnancy and self-HIV tests) in Kenya and other countries where DI-DIDA-sponsored PhD research is implemented.
  • Later in the program, social evaluations will be done of the DI-DIDA multiplex diagnostic(s) in the digital health ecosystem supported by PharmAccess in Kisumu, Kenya.

Notes for PhD training at Strathmore University under project # 2

  • Beside the other generic requirements for the Strathmore PhD Healthcare management program, strong preference will be given to those with Health Systems, Public Health, or Social Sciences, preferably, comfortable using mixed methods.
  • Final selection will be undertaken by the PhD Committee at the Strathmore Business School

Candidate will be required to develop and successfully defend a research proposal internally (within the consortium) before PhD registration is completed.

Developing Great African Leaders

Key Details:

  • All application materials must be received by 11:59 pm (Nairobi time) on 7th April 2023.

Contact person:

Nelson Mandela:

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