Formal Educational Opportunities Research Articles

Incentives for non-physician health professionals to work in the rural and remote areas of Mozambique--a discrete choice experiment for eliciting job preferences.

BackgroundSuccessfully motivating and retaining health workers is critical for the effective performance of health systems. In Mozambique, a shortage of health care professionals and low levels of staff motivation in rural and remote areas pose challenges to the provision of equitable health care delivery. This study provides quantitative information on the job preferences of non-physician health professionals in Mozambique, examining how different aspects of jobs are valued and how health professionals might respond to policy options that would post them to district hospitals in rural areas.MethodsThe study used a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to elicit the job preferences of non-physician health professionals. Data collection took place in four Mozambique provinces: Maputo City, Maputo Province, Sofala and Nampula. DCE questionnaires were administered to 334 non-physician health professionals with specialized or university training (‘mid-level specialists’ and N1 and N2 categories). In addition, questionnaires were administered to 123 N1 and N2 students to enable comparison of the results for those with work experience with those without and determine how new N1 and N2 graduates can be attracted to rural posts.ResultsThe results indicate that the provision of basic government housing has the greatest impact on the probability of choosing a job at a public health facility, followed by the provision of formal education opportunities and the availability of equipment and medicine at a health facility. The sub-group analysis suggests that job preferences vary according to stage of life and that incentive packages should vary accordingly. Recruitment strategies to encourage non-clinical professionals to work in rural/remote areas should also consider birthplace, as those born in rural/remote areas are more willing to work remotely.ConclusionThe study was undertaken within an overarching project that aimed to develop incentive packages for non-physician health professionals assigned to work in remote/rural areas. Based on the DCE results, the project team, together with the Mozambique Ministry of Health, has developed a range of health workforce retention strategies focusing on the provision of housing benefits and professional development opportunities to be utilized when assigning non-physician health professionals to rural/remote areas.

Education committee

The Education Committee has been busy planning for the 2016 IEEE International Symposium on EMC in Ottawa, Canada (in addition to its other initiatives and efforts)! The committee members are looking forward to seeing many of you at the symposium and we encourage you to take advantage of what is being planned for the formal symposium educational opportunities. We are pleased that we will be able to help meet the needs of people new to EMC and those who do have some experience and are looking to increase their knowledge.

“Women cannot lead”: empowering women through cultural tourism in Botswana

To rebalance the safari-tourism led tourism development policies in Botswana, the government has initiated a community-based cultural tourism policy, providing opportunities for women to become leaders and entrepreneurs. After reviewing the multifaceted, deeply contextualized and contested concept of women's empowerment, this paper examines perceptions of empowerment in Botswana and how far villagers felt that the new tourism policy has facilitated female agency and opportunity. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with female and male key informants in villages in southern Botswana. The new policy was found to have contributed significantly to a sense of female empowerment expressed in terms of freedom from economic dependency on men and society, and from depravity, emptiness and familial dependency. Women have progressed from passive involvement to active participation in culture-related tourism ventures. They also experienced vocational education but deferred formal educational opportunities to their offspring. Men were seen as facilitators and partners in women's involvement in tourism. However, barriers remain, including lack of startup capital, low levels of education, centralized control of protected tourism sites and low potential earnings. Ways are suggested to enhance the objectives and policies for women's participation in tourism in Botswana and other developing countries.

Breast cancer survivors concerned about preserving fertility

The palliative care clinical nurse specialist (CNS) role is a dynamic but difficult one, associated with significant and ever-changing challenges and stress, for which practitioners might not have the requisite power to effect change, according to this descriptive exploratory study. Using a purposive sample of community palliative care CNSs from a hospice in Northern Ireland, 33 staff were invited to participate and 17 ultimately contributed to semi-structured interviews. The interviews explored the learning, development and support needs of staff that would enable them to realise the main constituents of their role: clinical practice, education, research, and leadership and management. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. The researchers identified and categorised three themes: the influence of organisational culture, the influence of the individual and solutions to developmental needs. In the organisational culture, stable working relationships and informal peer support were reportedly the most conspicuous forms of professional support mechanism, with more formal means such as mentoring and clinical supervision also appreciated. Nonetheless, stressful, often isolated, lone-working practices meant that the emotional effect of caring and individual self-care measures were not addressed satisfactorily. Most personal knowledge was described as obtained by practice-based ‘experiential’ learning; however, the nurses recognised the need for formal educational opportunities and qualifications. Whittaker E, Kernohan W, McLaughlin D (2014) Learning, development, and support needs of community palliative care clinical nurse specialists. International Journal of Palliative Nursing. 20, 9, 425-433.

Study finds only those who believe in energy healing receive benefits

The palliative care clinical nurse specialist (CNS) role is a dynamic but difficult one, associated with significant and ever-changing challenges and stress, for which practitioners might not have the requisite power to effect change, according to this descriptive exploratory study. Using a purposive sample of community palliative care CNSs from a hospice in Northern Ireland, 33 staff were invited to participate and 17 ultimately contributed to semi-structured interviews. The interviews explored the learning, development and support needs of staff that would enable them to realise the main constituents of their role: clinical practice, education, research, and leadership and management. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. The researchers identified and categorised three themes: the influence of organisational culture, the influence of the individual and solutions to developmental needs. In the organisational culture, stable working relationships and informal peer support were reportedly the most conspicuous forms of professional support mechanism, with more formal means such as mentoring and clinical supervision also appreciated. Nonetheless, stressful, often isolated, lone-working practices meant that the emotional effect of caring and individual self-care measures were not addressed satisfactorily. Most personal knowledge was described as obtained by practice-based ‘experiential’ learning; however, the nurses recognised the need for formal educational opportunities and qualifications. Whittaker E, Kernohan W, McLaughlin D (2014) Learning, development, and support needs of community palliative care clinical nurse specialists. International Journal of Palliative Nursing. 20, 9, 425-433.

Palliative care staff report stress from lone working practices

The palliative care clinical nurse specialist (CNS) role is a dynamic but difficult one, associated with significant and ever-changing challenges and stress, for which practitioners might not have the requisite power to effect change, according to this descriptive exploratory study. Using a purposive sample of community palliative care CNSs from a hospice in Northern Ireland, 33 staff were invited to participate and 17 ultimately contributed to semi-structured interviews. The interviews explored the learning, development and support needs of staff that would enable them to realise the main constituents of their role: clinical practice, education, research, and leadership and management. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. The researchers identified and categorised three themes: the influence of organisational culture, the influence of the individual and solutions to developmental needs. In the organisational culture, stable working relationships and informal peer support were reportedly the most conspicuous forms of professional support mechanism, with more formal means such as mentoring and clinical supervision also appreciated. Nonetheless, stressful, often isolated, lone-working practices meant that the emotional effect of caring and individual self-care measures were not addressed satisfactorily. Most personal knowledge was described as obtained by practice-based ‘experiential’ learning; however, the nurses recognised the need for formal educational opportunities and qualifications. Whittaker E, Kernohan W, McLaughlin D (2014) Learning, development, and support needs of community palliative care clinical nurse specialists. International Journal of Palliative Nursing. 20, 9, 425-433.

Improving the efficacy of web‐based educational outreach in ecology

Scientists are increasingly engaging the web to provide formal and informal science education opportunities. Despite the prolific growth of web‐based resources, systematic evaluation and assessment of their efficacy remains limited. We used clickstream analytics, a widely available method for tracking website visitors and their behavior, to evaluate >60,000 visits over three years to an educational website focused on ecology. Visits originating from search engine queries were a small proportion of the traffic, suggesting the need to actively promote websites to drive visitation. However, the number of visits referred to the website per social media post varied depending on the social media platform and the quality of those visits (e.g., time on site and number of pages viewed) was significantly lower than visits originating from other referring websites. In particular, visitors referred to the website through targeted promotion (e.g., inclusion in a website listing classroom teaching resources) had higher quality visits. Once engaged in the site's core content, visitor retention was high; however, visitors rarely used the tutorial resources that serve to explain the site's use. Our results demonstrate that simple changes in website design, content and promotion are likely to increase the number of visitors and their engagement. While there is a growing emphasis on using the web to broaden the impacts of biological research, time and resources remain limited. Clickstream analytics provides an easily accessible, relatively fast and quantitative means by which those engaging in educational outreach can improve upon their efforts.

A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Perceptions of Interprofessional Education in Medical Students

Background and Objectives: With the recent paradigm shift in medicine away from traditional hierarchies and patient-physician dyads, there is increased interest in training students to work interprofessionally. A primary focus for improving collaboration in health care is increasing exposure to formalized interprofessional education (IPE) across health professions during training. This study focuses on the effect of formal and informal curricula on medical student attitudes toward IPE. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of all undergraduate medical students was conducted using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS). Results: Throughout all years of medical school, students agreed with the importance of interprofessional education. Fourth-year medical students had higher total RIPLS scores (64.29 versus 61.0; p=0.007), as well as higher scores on multiple individual RIPLS questions than first-year students. Conclusions: Medical students become more enthusiastic about IPE as their training progresses. Both formal and informal educational opportunities contribute to this effect.

Exercise in cancer care in Ireland: a survey of oncology nurses and physiotherapists.

Little is known about the extent of exercise prescription within cancer care. This cross-sectional survey aims to identify Irish oncology nurses and physiotherapists' current knowledge and practice in prescribing exercise for cancer care and barriers to such prescription. An online survey was distributed to the Chartered Physiotherapists in Oncology and Palliative Care (n = 35) and the Irish Association for Nurses in Oncology (n = 170). The response rate was 74% (26/35) for physiotherapists and 34% (58/170) for oncology nurses. Three quarters of physiotherapists recommended/prescribed exercise with 81% or more of cancer patients in the past 6 months, with the exercises prescribed largely in line with current guidelines. Patients' family/friends advising rest was the most commonly reported exercise barrier by physiotherapists [89% (17/19)], with a lack of exercise guidelines for cancer patients being most problematic for oncology nurses [93% (50/54)]. Only 33% (18/54) of oncology nurses felt they had sufficient knowledge regarding exercise in cancer care. In conclusion, exercise prescription by physiotherapists largely corresponds with current guidelines. A minority of nurses felt they had sufficient knowledge of exercise for this population. Further formal postgraduate educational opportunities are needed for oncology nurses and physiotherapists in this area.

Advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants in sleep centers and clinics: a survey of current roles and educational background.

To survey Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) and Physician Assistant (PA) utilization, roles and educational background within the field of sleep medicine. Electronic surveys distributed to American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) member centers and APRNs and PAs working within sleep centers and clinics. Approximately 40% of responding AASM sleep centers reported utilizing APRNs or PAs in predominantly clinical roles. Of the APRNs and PAs surveyed, 95% reported responsibilities in sleep disordered breathing and more than 50% in insomnia and movement disorders. Most APRNs and PAs were prepared at the graduate level (89%), with sleep-specific education primarily through "on the job" training (86%). All APRNs surveyed were Nurse Practitioners (NPs), with approximately double the number of NPs compared to PAs. APRNs and PAs were reported in sleep centers at proportions similar to national estimates of NPs and PAs in physicians' offices. They report predominantly clinical roles, involving common sleep disorders. Given current predictions that the outpatient healthcare structure will change and the number of APRNs and PAs will increase, understanding the role and utilization of these professionals is necessary to plan for the future care of patients with sleep disorders. Surveyed APRNs and PAs reported a significant deficiency in formal and standardized sleep-specific education. Efforts to provide formal and standardized educational opportunities for APRNs and PAs that focus on their clinical roles within sleep centers could help fill a current educational gap.

Clinical Neuro-Oncology Formal Education Opportunities for Medical Students in the United States and Canada

To develop an understanding of the availability of the formal clinical neuro-oncology educational opportunities for medical students. The curriculum websites of all medical schools accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education were reviewed for the presence of clinical neuro-oncology electives as well as other relevant data. Ten (6.8%) of medical schools accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education offer formal neuro-oncology electives. Half are clustered in the Midwest. Forty percent are at institutions with neuro-oncology fellowships. All are at institutions with neurosurgery and neurology residency programs. Formal clinical neuro-oncology elective opportunities for medical students in the United States and Canada are limited. Additional such opportunities may be of value in the education of medical students.

Changing Cultural Pathways through Gender Role and Sexual Development: A Theoretical Framework

AbstractGreenfield's () theory linking sociodemographic change to dynamic cultural values for family interdependence versus individual independence is applied to sexual and gender role socialization and development. The theory explains how cultural pathways for sexual and gender‐role development transform in concert with sociodemographic changes: urbanization, formal schooling, capitalism, and communication technologies. As environments become more urban, commercial, and technological, with more opportunities for formal education, sexual development moves away from the ideals of procreation and family responsibility and toward the ideals of personal pleasure and personal responsibility. At the same time, gender‐role development moves away from the ideals of complementary and ascribed gender roles and toward chosen and equal gender roles. We present psychological, anthropological, and sociological evidence for these trends in a variety of communities undergoing social and ecological change.

Understanding anatomical competence: perceptions of residents and program directors using a mixed methods survey (535.6)

Over the past two decades, the teaching of anatomy to medical students has undergone major transformative changes. The purpose of this study was to better understand current perceptions of anatomical competence of residents. We examined residents’ perceptions of their own anatomical competence in clinical practice as well as program directors’ perceptions of their residents’ anatomical competence in clinical practice. A mixed methods survey was sent to both residents and program directors of 15 residency programs at Indiana University School of Medicine. The survey response rates for residents and program directors were 46% (n = 385) and 71% (n = 61), respectively. Results indicate that residents believed their gross anatomy education better prepared them to be anatomically competent, in contrast to their program directors perception (P = <0.0001). However, program directors believed that their residents were developing anatomical competence at an appropriate rate, in contrast to the residents who were less satisfied with their rate of progress (P = <0.0001). Finally, both residents and program directors agreed that there is a need for more formal anatomy educational opportunities during residency. Exploring these results within the context of a changing anatomy curriculum brings to the forefront important perspectives on anatomical competence.

Fat Dogs and Coughing Horses: K–12 Programming for Veterinary Workforce Development

Workforce development strategies to educate, inform, and diversify the veterinary profession of the future must begin with children in elementary school. This article provides a description of the Fat Dogs and Coughing Horses program, which takes a multifaceted approach toward informing young students, beginning in first grade, about the interesting work and career opportunities available in the field of veterinary medicine. The program, a collaboration among Purdue University and Indiana public schools, is supported by a Science Education Partnership Award from the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs, a component of the National Institutes of Health. The overall goal of the program is to provide formal and informal educational opportunities for students, parents, teachers, and the public about the science involved in keeping people and their animals healthy. Examples of health concerns that impact both people and their pets are used to inform and excite children about careers in the health sciences. The program resulted in (1) curricula for students in Grades 1-3, 6, and 9; (2) four children's books and a set of collectible cards which highlight veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and research scientists who work with animals; and (3) four traveling museum-level quality exhibits. Preliminary assessment data has shown that the implementation of the curricula enhanced student science learning and science attitudes and interests. The program provides evidence that partnerships among professionals in veterinary medicine and K-12 education can result in impactful workforce development programs.

Relationship Between Staff Development and Job Performance Among Personnel in Branch Libraries, University of Maiduguri,Nigeria

This study investigated Staff development as a motivating factor in job performance among personnel in branch libraries, University of Maiduguri. The study aimed at determining the relationship between staff development programmes and job performance. It was a survey research method involving 47 (professional, paraprofessional and non- professional) staff in 15 branch libraries. The entire population of 47 staff was adopted for the study and so there was no sampling. Questionnaire was the only research instrument used in data collection. Questionnaire was divided into six sections (Demographic variables of respondents, formal education, seminars/Conferences, workshop attendance, and job performance). The instrument also comprises 15 items within the six sections. The 47 copies of questionnaire were administered and retrieved by the researchers. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze demographic variables of respondents. While inferential statistic i.e Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used to test the four formulated hypotheses, while Multiple Regression Analysis was used to test one (1) null hypothesis on the joint relationships between staff development programme and job performance at 0.05 level of significance. Response rate showed that out of the forty seven (47) copies of questionnaire administered, 34 (72%) copies were returned and found usable. Majority of the respondents were males while professional staff were the majority of respondents. Hypotheses tested revealed that formal education does not enhance job performance of staff. On the other hand Seminars/conferences and workshop attendance enhances job performance of staff. As the staff development programmes collectively increases, the job performance of staff tends to be higher. Conclusion was that there was indiscipline on the part of staff and that there was no enforcement of discipline by the management despite opportunities for formal education in the university. The increase in opportunities for the various staff development programmes increase higher job performance on the part of staff in branch libraries. Among the recommendations include strict enforcement of discipline on staff and creating opportunities for staff development by the University management. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n5p9

Organizing a public aquarium: objectives, design, operation and missions. A review

Many Public Aquaria have been designed and constructed all over the world during the last three decades. The serial arrangement of relatively small, rectangular, concrete tanks has been replaced by fewer large, irregularly shaped tanks, replicating habitats. The “taxonomic concept” of displaying specimens in the old aquaria has now been succeeded by the more ecological, “community concept” type of display. At the same time most of the “old aquaria” have been renovated. Aquarium missions have also been broadened nowadays including research, conservation and education. Aquaria are ideal places for research on husbandry, life cycles, reproduction, behavior, autoecology and fish pathology. Collaboration with Universities and Research Centers increases the research potential in scientific disciplines such as ecology, genetics, physiology and biochemistry. Collaboration also provides mutual benefits in both infrastructure and personnel: The research background in aquaria also forms a sound platform to materialize conservation projects, focusing either on the ex-situ conservation of animals in the aquaria or on environmental protection of surrounding areas and reintroduction of endangered species. In addition to formal educational opportunities, non formal education to visitors, schools and undergraduates seems to become a major mission of aquaria. Aquarium tank displays, preserved biological material, film projections, seminars / lectures and book magazine publications enhance environmental awareness, encouraging people to adopt Environmentally Responsible Behavior. All these missions are feasible because most public aquaria are making a good profit mainly due to their high popularity. There are also benefits for the community in the area; aquaria have enlivened declining water front areas and increased the income of tourist resorts mainly by “stretching out” the tourist season. In the present work the objectives of a public aquarium are reviewed and the main infrastructure subsystems and operational procedures are described; Know how on aquarium systems can also be applied in research laboratories of academic institutions if live organisms have to be kept for experimentation. Aquarium missions on research, conservation and education are discussed.

Best Practices for Team-Based Assistive Technology Design Courses

Team-based design courses focused on products for people with disabilities have become relatively common, in part because of training grants such as the NSF Research to Aid Persons with Disabilities course grants. An output from these courses is an annual description of courses and projects but has yet to be complied into a "best practices guide," though it could be helpful for instructors. To meet this need, we conducted a study to generate best practices for assistive technology product development courses and how to use these courses to teach students the fundamentals of innovation. A full list of recommendations is comprised in the manuscript and include identifying a client through a reliable clinical partner; allowing for transparency between the instructors, the client, and the team(s); establishing multi-disciplinary teams; using a process-oriented vs. solution-oriented product development model; using a project management software to facilitate and archive communication and outputs; facilitating client interaction through frequent communication; seeking to develop professional role confidence to inspire students' commitment to engineering and (where applicable) rehabilitation field; publishing student designs on repositories; incorporating both formal and informal education opportunities related to design; and encouraging students to submit their designs to local or national entrepreneurship competitions.

Reconstructing the Campus: Higher Education and the American Civil War by Michael David Cohen (review)

Reviewed by: Reconstructing the Campus: Higher Education and the American Civil War by Michael David Cohen Dan R. Frost (bio) Reconstructing the Campus: Higher Education and the American Civil War. By Michael David Cohen. (Charlottesville and London: University of Virginia Press, 2012. Pp. 288. $45.00 cloth; $45.00 e-book) According to Michael David Cohen, “the Civil War was a watershed ” that accelerated significant changes in higher education in the North and inaugurated them in the South (p. 189). Before the war, Cohen familiarly finds collegiate schools nationally committed to a classical curriculum. Such instruction in the North largely served economic elites and produced lawyers, ministers, and physicians. Only a few schools had started developing engineering and scientific programs to attract students from more modest backgrounds who wanted employment other than in those professions. In the South, classical curricula additionally provided a class-identifying education for planters’ sons destined to succeed their fathers as proprietors of the plantation economy. Upper-class northern and southern women might attend a female seminary that taught classics to educate them as socially acceptable wives for their similarly educated husbands. A smattering of northern women could be found in rare coeducational institutions. Coeducation was nonexistent for southern belles. Higher educational opportunities for northern African Americans barely existed. In slave states, even free blacks found no formal educational opportunities of any kind. The Civil War changed higher education. It especially accelerated antebellum changes already occurring in the North. Wartime federal legislation that led to state agricultural and mechanical colleges placed emphasis on science and engineering, not classics. These disciplines attracted middle- and lower-class young men, thereby broadening the socioeconomic base of postbellum students who wanted employment in engineering and scientific fields. During the war, some schools that lost male students to military service turned to coeducation to compensate, thereby expanding opportunities for women and advancing a trend that continued after Appomattox. Opportunities [End Page 261] for African Americans, however, only modestly increased as racial barriers proved more difficult to break down. The death of thousands of young southern men meant that for schools to survive they needed to expand beyond teaching planters’ sons. In order to attract more practically minded and economically diverse students, many southern institutions implemented elective systems that provided more curricular choices by adding engineering and scientific programs, and by doing so they created the South’s first authentic universities. Coeducation made little headway in the South, however, and expensive women’s colleges continued to provide classical instruction to upper-class daughters. Only the growth in public schools, which hired women as teachers, eventually led to some coeducation and curricular reform for female students late in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A very few Republican-controlled southern schools allowed African Americans integrated access to higher education during Reconstruction, and Democratic state legislatures quickly prohibited integrated schools as Reconstruction ended. Still, some opportunities for higher education, unthinkable before the war, emerged as northern philanthropy opened some institutions for blacks, and state legislatures grudgingly used federal land-grant money to support black as well as white agricultural and mechanical colleges. Overall, Cohen provides a fine account of changes in higher education resulting from the war. Problematically, however, he exaggerates the impact of the war in creating postbellum “partnerships” between schools and the federal government, particularly through the Morrill Act (1862) that provided federal grants to states to establish agricultural and mechanical colleges but otherwise required little federal involvement. He especially overemphasizes the impact of the legislative mandate that military tactics be taught on these campuses, which he argues contributed to a supposed militarization of American society. This conclusion is doubtful given that the United States maintained one of the smallest military establishments [End Page 262] among industrializing nations on the eve of the Spanish-American War. Nonetheless, Cohen, through his expansive use of university archives, government documents, and secondary sources, provides a good and needed national look at higher education for a period that most accounts examine only regionally. Dan R. Frost Dan R. Frost is the author of Thinking Confederates: Academia and the Idea of Progress in the New South (2000). He teaches history at Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana...

Survey of northern informal and formal mental health practitioners

BackgroundThis survey is part of a multi-year research study on informal and formal mental health support in northern Canada involving the use of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods in an effort to better understand mental health in a northern context.ObjectiveThe main objective of the 3-year study was to document the situation of formal and informal helpers in providing mental health support in isolated northern communities in northern British Columbia, northern Alberta, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The intent of developing a survey was to include more participants in the research and access those working in small communities who would be concerned regarding confidentiality and anonymity due to their high profile within smaller populations.DesignBased on the in-depth interviews from the qualitative phase of the project, the research team developed a survey that reflected the main themes found in the initial qualitative analysis. The on-line survey consisted of 26 questions, looking at basic demographic information and presenting lists of possible challenges, supports and client mental health issues for participants to prioritise.ResultsThirty-two participants identified various challenges, supports and client issues relevant to their mental health support work. A vast majority of the respondents felt prepared for northern practice and had some level of formal education. Supports for longevity included team collaboration, knowledgeable supervisors, managers, leaders and more opportunities for formal education, specific training and continuity of care to support clients.ConclusionFor northern-based research in small communities, the development of a survey allowed more participants to join the larger study in a way that protected their identity and confidentiality. The results from the survey emphasise the need for team collaboration, interdisciplinary practice and working with community strengths as a way to sustain mental health support workers in the North.

Food Security: How Rural Ghanaian Households Respond to Food Shortages in Lean Season

A rural household, with little or no formal education and limited opportunities for non-farm income generating activities, will produce rather than purchase staples for household consumption. Many subsistence farmers are net-food buyers, often facing the challenge of ensuring household food security in lean seasons of production when their stock is exhausted (cyclical food insecurity). This paper determined the optimal farm plan, profit levels of crops, and farmer behaviour when given the option to purchase or produce food using a linear programming framework. Findings from the LP model show that capital is the most constraining resource for both male and female farmers. Making an additional capital of US$180 available to female farmers will increase their net income by US$823 but making one additional acre of land available to them will only increase income by US$200. As land reforms take time, addressing their credit needs is an appropriate short-term intervention.