Job Description

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.

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 to continue practicing 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. To address these challenges, we have developed an intervention grounded in the Information, Motivation, and Behavior (IMB) model. 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 7 days after discharge compared to 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 project is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Findings from this research will inform the development of effective models for KC implementation and scale-up.

Duties and Responsibilities

• 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
• Ghanaian Citizen or Permanent Resident

Required Skills or Experience

• 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)