Lessons in organizing and scaling up mentorship as workplace -based support in health systems. Authors: SA Learning Alliance for District Health systems (SALAD):
1
UCT School of Public Health, UCT, Cape Town, South Africa
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Health Systems globally are rich in legislative and policy architecture and a myriad of plans and reports requiring attention. However, the working environment is complex, with many moving parts and characterised by many actors and demands. Workplace-based system leadership development - such as mentoring - can support the development of the individual, team and systems competencies needed to navigate these complexities. It also has the potential to support staff retention and enable service delivery improvements. Yet, there is limited evidence of how mentorship programmes can be implemented effectively within public health systems. The aim of this organized session is to share experiences of the design, application, and scaling of mentoring in various South African public health contexts.
METHODS:
A panel discussion will be facilitated by SALAD, with 4 members representing academia, policy makers, and health management across provinces. The panel will include mentorship perspectives from different contexts, including from the women in global health leadership fellowship. Following a 5-minute introduction by the chair, each panelist will have 7 minutes to discuss their experiences of designing, organising and scaling up mentoring in their setting, and to reflect on the challenges, opportunities and insights gained. A 20 min wider particpipation will be invited.
RESULTS:
The session will enable a sharing of rich experiences and lessons from South African public health settings on the organization, delivery and reviewing the impact of mentorship in the workplace as an intervention to strengthen health system leadership. It will also support discussion of relevant, international experience.
CONCLUSIONS:
Mentorship, as a workplace-based leadership development intervention, is an important strategy to strengthen individual, team and system competencies in navigating system complexities. Sharing lessons and exchanging ideas will generate valuable guidance for policymakers, managers, researchers, and funders across different programmes and country settings.
Health Systems globally are rich in legislative and policy architecture and a myriad of plans and reports requiring attention. However, the working environment is complex, with many moving parts and characterised by many actors and demands. Workplace-based system leadership development - such as mentoring - can support the development of the individual, team and systems competencies needed to navigate these complexities. It also has the potential to support staff retention and enable service delivery improvements. Yet, there is limited evidence of how mentorship programmes can be implemented effectively within public health systems. The aim of this organized session is to share experiences of the design, application, and scaling of mentoring in various South African public health contexts.
METHODS:
A panel discussion will be facilitated by SALAD, with 4 members representing academia, policy makers, and health management across provinces. The panel will include mentorship perspectives from different contexts, including from the women in global health leadership fellowship. Following a 5-minute introduction by the chair, each panelist will have 7 minutes to discuss their experiences of designing, organising and scaling up mentoring in their setting, and to reflect on the challenges, opportunities and insights gained. A 20 min wider particpipation will be invited.
RESULTS:
The session will enable a sharing of rich experiences and lessons from South African public health settings on the organization, delivery and reviewing the impact of mentorship in the workplace as an intervention to strengthen health system leadership. It will also support discussion of relevant, international experience.
CONCLUSIONS:
Mentorship, as a workplace-based leadership development intervention, is an important strategy to strengthen individual, team and system competencies in navigating system complexities. Sharing lessons and exchanging ideas will generate valuable guidance for policymakers, managers, researchers, and funders across different programmes and country settings.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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