Leadership in health and medical education: lessons from a symposium on health sector development in Ghana.

The Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS) has established an annual leadership symposium celebrating innovative leadership in the health sector. The 2022 symposium under the theme "Health Sector Development in Ghana; The Power of Good Leadership" was held in honour of Professor Samuel Ofosu-Amaah (the laureate), an Emeritus Professor of Public Health at the University of Ghana, about his leadership legacy. This article reflects on the leadership challenges in the health sector, the lessons learnt from the symposium, and the way forward. Leadership challenges identified in the health sector included the need for mentorship and coaching, the importance of teamwork and networking for delivering high-quality healthcare, and the role of leadership and governance in the health system. Key lessons from the symposium focused on skills in leading an event organisation, effective collaboration and teamwork, and learning from recognising prominent leaders' contributions to the health sector while these leaders are still alive. Key lessons from the personal and professional life of the laureate included a focus on giving back to the community, building mentorship of health leaders, being a catalyst of change, leadership and governance in public health institutions and publication of research findings. Suggestions were made to name the School of Public Health of the University of Ghana after Professor Ofosu-Amaah, to include a leadership and management module in all training modules at the GCPS and to establish a health leadership "Observatory" to focus on research on how leadership influences relevant health sector policy issues. Funding: The World Health Organization (WHO) country office in Ghana funded the symposium.

Leadership in health and medical education: lessons from a symposium on health sector development in Ghana

The Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS) has established an annual leadership symposium celebrating innovative leadership in the health sector. The 2022 symposium under the theme "Health Sector Development in Ghana; The Power of Good Leadership" was held in honour of Professor Samuel Ofosu-Amaah (the laureate), an Emeritus Professor of Public Health at the University of Ghana, about his leadership legacy. This article reflects on the leadership challenges in the health sector, the lessons learnt from the symposium, and the way forward. Leadership challenges identified in the health sector included the need for mentorship and coaching, the importance of teamwork and networking for delivering high-quality healthcare, and the role of leadership and governance in the health system. Key lessons from the symposium focused on skills in leading an event organisation, effective collaboration and teamwork, and learning from recognising prominent leaders' contributions to the health sector while these leaders are still alive. Key lessons from the personal and professional life of the laureate included a focus on giving back to the community, building mentorship of health leaders, being a catalyst of change, leadership and governance in public health institutions and publication of research findings. Suggestions were made to name the School of Public Health of the University of Ghana after Professor OfosuAmaah, to include a leadership and management module in all training modules at the GCPS and to establish a health leadership "Observatory" to focus on research on how leadership influences

Interventions to improve obstetric emergency referral decision making, communication and feedback between health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to review the evidence on interventions to improve obstetric emergency referral decision making, communication and feedback between health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). METHODS: A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Register and CINAHL Plus was conducted to identify studies on obstetric emergency referral in SSA. Studies were included based on pre-defined eligibility criteria. Details of reported referral interventions were extracted and categorised. The Joanna Biggs Institute Critical Appraisal checklists were used for quality assessment of included studies. A formal narrative synthesis approach was used to summarise findings guided by the WHO's referral system flow. RESULTS: A total of 14 studies were included, with seven deemed high quality. Overall, 7 studies reported referral decision-making interventions including training programmes for health facility and community health workers, use of a triage checklist and focused obstetric ultrasound, which resulted in improved knowledge and practice of recognising danger signs for referral. 9 studies reported on referral communication using mobile phones and referral letters/notes, resulting in increased communication between facilities despite telecommunication network failures. Referral decision making and communication interventions achieved a perceived reduction in maternal mortality. 2 studies focused on referral feedback, which improved collaboration between health facilities. CONCLUSION: There is limited evidence on how well referral interventions work in sub-Saharan Africa, and limited consensus regarding the framework underpinning the expected change. This review has led to the proposition of a logic model that can serve as the base for future evaluations which robustly expose the (in)efficiency of referral interventions.