$50m research push as Gov’t invests in health talent

The Government is investing $50 million in healthcare research while spending an average of $500 million annually to train healthcare workers in areas where there are critical shortages, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has said.

Tufton made the disclosure yesterday as 138 healthcare workers in training were presented with scholarships named in honour of longtime permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Barry Wint, during a ceremony at the S Hotel in New Kingston.

The $50-million Wellness Grant, which is awarded every two years or so, will support five research projects examining issues ranging from breast cancer and childhood cancer to sickle cell disease, air pollution and environmental chemical exposure.

“I like to be driven by research, and if we are going to keep on the cutting edge, add more services to tackle the emerging challenges of health, we need to engage research communities. So this grant is a $50-million grant every two years or so,” Tufton said.

“We advertise, persons apply subject to an ethics committee and a research panel committee that determines the relevance of the research to the challenges that we have. And we award these grants for the research with the hope that the final results will be integrated into policy and practice in the system.”

Dr Simone Bada and Dr Michelle Reece-Mills received $20 million and $10 million respectively for their research projects.

Bada’s research, titled ‘From Cell Lines to Clinical Cohort: Characterising Breast Cancer in Jamaican Women to Inform Treatment, Policy and International Research’, will examine breast cancer among Jamaican women.

Reece-Mills will investigate ‘Hidden Patients in Crisis: The Psychological Impact of Childhood Cancer on Parents and Siblings in Jamaica’.

RESEARCH FUNDING

Dr Tracy Evans-Gilbert received $7.9 million for research into building climate-resilient ambulatory care for children with sickle cell disease in western Jamaica, including an analysis of the health system following Hurricane Melissa.

Dr Adrienne Williams was awarded $4.9 million to assess air pollution exposure and its effects on respiratory health in an urban Jamaican city, while Dr Shelly McFarlane received the same amount to examine the role of environmental chemical exposure in the development of cervical, prostate and colorectal cancers.

Meanwhile, the 138 recipients of the Barry Wint scholarships were selected from more than 700 applicants, meaning roughly one in every five applicants was successful.

The scholarship programme is in its third of five years and is designed to help train healthcare workers in areas of critical need while encouraging them to remain in the public health system.

Recipients are bonded to work in the public health system for three years after completing their training.

“So we finance their education and focus on the areas where we have significant shortages. We are spending, on average, in the first year, I think, about J$500 million and we try to ensure because of the term that they have, whether they are doing two years, one year, or otherwise, that we can sustain it over that five-year period. So 141, ranging in categories, biomedical engineers, not just doctors and nurses, but specialists, nurses, IT, management, all the critical and supporting areas to deliver health services, giving priorities, of course, to Jamaicans in the first instance...,” Tufton said.

He said the Government remains committed to the five-year programme, which is administered through the ministry’s Corporate Services Division, headed by Sonia Smith.

Applicants are screened according to the areas identified by the ministry as priorities, with the intention of ensuring that there will be employment opportunities for successful candidates after they complete their studies.

“They are screened based on the areas of focus, which we outline in the advisory. So if you want to study a particular area, these are the areas that we need to have because, we have to hire the people after. So we have to have a job secured for them in public health. And the people apply. Not everybody gets, obviously, but we take the ones that meet the criteria, and they pursue it at various institutions. The University of the West Indies, University of Technology or a number of institutions that allow them to be trained in a particular field,” Tufton explained.

Smith said the number of applications far exceeded the ministry’s ability to fund scholarships.

“Regrettably, we could not meet the majority of that number. And what we were able to grant this year, based on the funding that we had available, was 138 scholarships. We have all categories, but fewer in the popular areas like medicine as the years progressed. This year, only fourth- and fifth-year students we took for medicine,” said Smith, adding that some recipients were pursuing nursing and midwifery.

She said one of the highlights of this year’s awards was the number of scholarships being provided to nurses who will pursue specialist nursing education and return to train others.

“I think the highlight of this year’s awards were for nurses to pursue nursing education, and we awarded 24 specialist nurses scholarships to pursue nursing education in order to come back and be trainers. Because what we’re finding is that we continue to get talent from overseas, and it is our view now that we need to start growing our own specialist nurses,” she said.

Smith said the ministry plans to establish a training centre in each of the country’s four health regions to train nurses in specialist areas.

The scholarship programme awarded 235 recipients in its first year, just over 200 last year and 138 this year. Smith said more than 600 people have benefited since its inception.

She said the programme initially faced challenges in finding guarantors for some applicants, but a desk was established at the Ministry of Health & Wellness, rather than the Ministry of Finance, to assist recipients with the process.

“You work for us for three years. And after that you can go where you want to go. We hope that more will stay than those who will go...” she said.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com