Report from two sabbaticals via SFO-V
SFO-V regularly announces calls for partial financing of sabbaticals within health care sciences. This past spring, Susan Guidetti, professor at the Division of Occupational Therapy and Eric Asaba, docent and senior lecturer at the Division of Occupational Therapy were granted funding for sabbaticals in Ugandan and USA, respectively.
Susanne Guidetti
Where did you spend your sabbatical, and for how long?
I spent my time in Kampala, Uganda. I packed my suitcase and left on February 4, returning back home on April 22.
Is this your first time on a sabbatical?
This was my first time, and as I had not previously done a postdoc period, this was a very valuable experience for me.
How has your sabbatical contributed to developing your research at Karolinska Institutet?
In many ways. It contributed to expanding my contacts and broaden my network in Uganda. We could work towards registering a doctoral student from Uganda at KI, who will work in our project on site in Uganda.
I had the opportunity to present at a NCD conference at the Makerere University, which led to a contact at the The Uganda Initiative for Integrated Management of NCDs (UINCD) who collaborated with researchers at Yale University. In a pilot study, they had tested a mobile phone solution connected to a Ministry of Health online platform (Family connect) to support persons with cardiac failure. We have now initiated a discussion to perform a feasibility test with our mobile phone support intervention for persons with stroke and their families, that we have tested and evaluated in Uganda. I this works out, we will continue to plan for an intervention study nationwide in Uganda.
We have also just finished data collection for a cohort in Sweden and will thus have evaluated the intervention in both countries, which I consider contributing to knowledge about how to use digital solutions globally in rehabilitation.
My research group have also received a network grant from The Swedish Research Council, allowing us to initiate the project on site, which is so much easier. Three colleagues came and spent a week, and we could visit the area for data collection together.
What is your experience of collaboration with other parties in health care sciences and how has the sabbatical contributed to strengthening that collaboration?
Since March of last year, I am responsible for issues regarding NCD within the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health at KI. The sabbatical has strengthened collaboration in this field for different professions with the same research focus at the Makerere University (MAK), and we are now a group of researchers at both KI and MAK planning among other things for a prevention study for persons at risk of NCD.
How did your sabbatical influence your teaching at Karolinska Institutet?
In this instance, it had a great impact as I also had applied for a Linnaeus-Palme project for occupational therapy education, where I could prepare exchanges for both students and teachers. I had two KI teachers visiting Kampala during the period of my sabbatical and were able to support them on site. In general, I was able to teach classes and take part in meetings online. I also taught a master’s course in health care science from Krems University, Austria, which worked out well.
What resources have you needed to be able to go through with your sabbatical, and how have you used the grant from SFO-V?
Uganda is not a cheap country for a visiting Swedish researcher. The funding was used partially for salary as well as flights and rent (1 900 USD/month). Apart from that, I have been able to use project grants and my professorship allowance for additional costs, vaccinations, and transport.
What specific research questions have you examined during your sabbatical?
I have monitored our project about implementing and evaluate the effect of a family centered and mobile phone supported intervention for persons with stroke and their families.
We also study the implementation process of a project where we follow the MRC guidelines, and where I had made contact with a nursing student from Sophiahemmet, who needed a project, and was in Uganda at the time together with two midwife students.
Another Ugandan student also conducted interviews with patients and next of kin, regarding their experiences of having participated in the intervention during this period. He will use this for his bachelor graduation project, and we have been able to collect data and transcribed interviews. Some of them in Luganda – one of the most common tribe languages in Uganda, which were translated into English.
What do you consider to be the most important part of your sabbatical?
To be able to stay for a longer period, which opens doors and provides opportunities.
What have been the most fun?
All encounters with everybody I have met in Uganda, but also with visiting KI students and researchers. To have the opportunity to connect our intervention to a national Ministry of Health platform in Uganda.
Living in place where I could play squash three times a week with a great coach was not only good for my physique, but also required 100% focus on that activity. This provided me with a good work balance during the stay.
What do you carry with you as a personal memory?
Although it sometimes feels hopeless, it is possible to make a difference through research, even if it is in a small context – it can be so very important for a one single person and family.
Eric Asaba
Where did you spend your sabbatical, and for how long?
I spent my sabbatical at the University of Southern California (USC), in Los Angeles, USA. I was there for three weeks.
Is this your first time on a sabbatical?
This is my first sabbatical.
How has your sabbatical contributed to developing your research at Karolinska Institutet?
I had the opportunity to meet several research groups, doctoral students, and students during my stay, to discuss concepts and methods within activity science, which have been rewarding. More specifically regarding research, we have an ongoing project about methods to prevent stroke, focusing on lifestyle and primary care. Part of our methodology originated from what was called “lifestyle redesign”, which was coined at USC in the 90’s. Discussions with the USC research group during a longer period has been rewarding in many ways. We also initiated a collaboration regarding rehabilitation with focus on return to work, and it has been productive to be able to establish contacts and channels for cooperation.
What is your experience of collaboration with other parties in health care sciences and how has the sabbatical contributed to strengthening that collaboration?
The research groups were relatively interdisciplinary, but at this particular visit I can’t say that we collaborated with other departments outside of health care sciences.
How did your sabbatical influence your teaching at Karolinska Institutet?
I had the opportunity to give a lecture to future occupational therapists and held a seminar with doctoral students. The occupational study program at USC is at advanced level, meaning that you have to hold an undergraduate degree to apply. There are two tracks, one for persons who are not already occupational therapists, a sort of entry level that consists of three years of study after your undergraduate. The other track is for those already working as occupational therapists and want to upgrade their education to a clinical postgraduate level (requiring a master’s degree in occupational therapy). This takes one year of additional study after your master’s degree.
What resources have you needed to be able to go through with your sabbatical, and how have you used the grant from SFO-V?
Funding from SFO-V was used for travel and lodging in Los Angeles, as well as research time.
What do you consider to be the most important part of your sabbatical?
The opportunity to think and discuss with others, and a certain freedom from other assignments for a period of time.
What have been the most fun?
Spontaneous meetings with people, and the conversations that follow.
What do you carry with you as a personal memory?
All the fantastic meetings and encounters, and picking oranges from the tree outside the house for freshly squeezed juice at breakfast.
