Rural Remote and Tropical Health Systems Strengthening health workforce Medical Education for Social Accountability: THEnet GOS

Medical Education for Social Accountability: the Training for Health Equity Network (THEnet) Graduate Outcomes Study

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Principal Investigator: Professor Sarah Larkins

This research project is undertaken by the Training for Health Equity Network (THEnet) which is an international collaboration of 13 schools of medicine and health sciences with a social accountability mandate. JCU College of Medicine & Dentistry is a founding partner of this group.

THEnet has developed an evaluation framework for socially accountable health workforce education. The Graduate Outcomes Study addresses a key component of THEnet evaluation framework “What difference do we make?” by exploring where graduates go and what they are doing. We are developing a longitudinal study of health professionals and graduates across countries to enable context-specific comparisons of location and discipline of practice with regional priority health needs.

This international project has the support of Deans of THEnet schools and has been undertaken simultaneously across THEnet partner schools since 2012. The study has now enrolled over 6000 learners from 7 countries. Schools participating in THEnet’s Graduate Outcomes Study are:

  • Ateneo de Zamboanga School of Medicine, Mindanao, Philippines
  • Flinders University, School of Medicine, Australia
  • Gezira University School of Medicine, Sudan
  • Ghent University, School of Medicine, Belgium
  • James Cook University, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Australia
  • Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Canada
  • Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Nepal
  • The Medical School of Walter Sisulu University, South Africa
  • University of the Philippines, Manila, School of Health Science, Leyte, Philippines

nurses in field

Johnston K, Guingona M, Elsanousi S, Mbokazi J, Labarda C, Cristobal FL, Upadhyay S, Othman A-B, Woolley T, Acharya B, Hogenbirk JC, Ketheesan S, Craig JC, Neusy A-J, Larkins S. (2020). Training a fit-for-purpose rural health workforce for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): how do drivers and enablers of rural practice intention differ between learners from LMICs and high income countries? Frontiers in Public Health. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.582464

Larkins S, Johnston K, Hogenbirk JC, Willems S, Elsanousi S, Mammen M, Van Roy K, Iputo J, Cristobal F, Greenhill J, Labarda C and Neusy A-J. (2018). Practice intentions at entry to and exit form medical schools aspiring to social accountability: findings from the Training for Health Equity Network Graduate Outcome Study. BMC Medical Education. 18:261. doi:10.1186/s12909-018-1360-6

Larkins  S, Michielsen K, Iputo J, Elsanousi S, Mammen M, Graves L, Willems S, Cristobal F, Samson R, Ellaway R, Ross S, Johnston K, Derese A, Neusy A-J. (2015) Impact of selection strategies on representation of underserved populations and intention to practise: international findings. Medical Education. 49(1):60-72. doi: 10.1111/medu.12518