title: Mentorship for operational research capacity building: hands-on or hands-off?
abstract: Mentorship is a key feature of operational research training courses run by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease and Médecins Sans Frontières. During the recent South Pacific paper writing module, the faculty discussed 'hands-on' mentorship (direct technical assistance) vs. 'hands-off' mentorship (technical advice). This article explores the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. Our collective experience indicates that 'hands-on' mentorship is a valuable learning experience for the participant and a rewarding experience for the mentor. This approach increases the likelihood of successful course completion, including publishing a well written paper. However, mentors must allow participants to lead and take ownership of the paper, in keeping with a first author position.
authors.affiliation: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France ; London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Harries
authors.affiliation: The Sydney Emerging Infections and Biosecurity Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marais
authors.affiliation: School of Population Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kool
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Fiji National University, Suva, Fiji.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ram
authors.affiliation: The Union South-East Asia Regional Office, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: A M V
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: National Tuberculosis Programme, Ministry of Health, Suva, Fiji.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gounder
authors.affiliation: Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Noumea, New Caledonia.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Viney
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of TB Elimination, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brostrom
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, Regional Public Health, Lower Hutt, New Zealand.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roseveare
authors.affiliation: International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Paris, France ; School of Population Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bissell
authors.affiliation: Operational Centre Brussels, Medical Department, Operational Research Unit (LuxOR), Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF-Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.affiliation: Operational Centre Brussels, Medical Department, Operational Research Unit (LuxOR), Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF-Luxembourg, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zachariah
authors.affiliation: Centre for International Health, The University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Hill
keywords: South Pacific; capacity building; mentorship; operational research